Diseño y simulación de un equipo para maduración de carne con capacidad de 20 kg

Abstract

The meat maturation is a softening process of meat which gives a diversity of goods, like a concentrated flavor, texture, and softness. Within the most known maturation processes are: dry maturation or dry meat aging and wet meat maturation. In the present work, the objective is the design and simulation of a meat maturation equipment with a 20kg.capacity. It was decided to design a dry meat aging equipment. In this method, the aim is to control three variables: temperature, air flow and relative humidity. Within the design, it was established the calculation of sizing, storage capacity, required area of trays and plates, selection of refrigerant and calculation of the cooling cycle, besides the selection of the main components of the cooling system like compressor, condenser, evaporator, capillary tube, as well as additional devices: humidifier, control of temperature and humidity. Two cases were analyzed: the first case, when the maturation chamber is empty and the second case, with product and plates or trays. Both cases reached a cooling temperature of 1degree Celsius and 80% of relative humidity after an interval of time. In conclusion, it was compared the derived results of the simulation with experimental attempts or try outs in an equipment of similar characteristics obtaining temperature values with the help of thermocouples, relative humidity with a hygrometer. At last, a budget table was made. It showed the rentability of the proposed equipment.