6. Fluid Mechanics: Applications

In this chapter, we will focus on some selected applications of fluid mechanics. Food processing and manufacturing operations involve handling various types of fluids, including liquids, gases, steam, and fluidized materials. They follow many of the same laws and exhibit similar resistance to flow and are thus grouped together for analysis and process design purposes. Based on their unifying theory, engineering operations are often categorized into unit operations such as heating, cooling, drying, sheeting, and homogenization. The fluid flow properties and design of the handling and transport system in each unit operation and how fluids are moved from one operation to another control the resulting quality, safety, and consistency of the final products. Thus, a good understanding of the design considerations is needed. Although specific requirements depend on the product characteristics and the processes involved, elimination of dead spots where microorganisms could grow, ease of clean-in-place (CIP) and overall operational efficiency apply to all food handling systems. In Chap. 5, we discussed the basics of the flow of fluids. In this chapter, we will learn how those principles are utilized in selecting and setting up equipment and pipeline networks that are used to process and transport fluids such as liquid foods and related materials.