Abstract: A mathematical model is developed to describle the heat transfer occurring during the forced-air pre-cooling process for grapes with long-circular shape in vertical section. The governing equations are solved numerically with finite element method. The temperature field in the grapes at any time, and the cooling process key parameters such as the half cooling time and the seven-eighths cooling time are obtained. The numerical results are validated by the experiments. The cooling process results may well and truly be predicted with the mathematical model.

Key words: long-circular fruit and vegetable, forced-air pre-cooling, heat transfer analysis, finite element method