Gavin Paiva and Leo Olcott
Department of Civil-Mechanical Engineering
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Advisors: Dr. Bryan R. Becker and Dr. Brian A. Fricke

Abstract
This paper presents an overview of food freezing time prediction methods. Based on the findings of this review, a user-friendly computer program was written to calculate the freezing times of foods based on a food item’s dimensions, overall shape, and thermal properties, as well as the surrounding environmental conditions. The computer program incorporates four distinct, user-selectable algorithms for calculating freezing times of regular geometries, which account for pre-cooling, phase change, and sub-cooling in single-step procedures. An algorithm was also developed to account for irregular geometries by using shape factors in a two-step procedure. This paper will discuss the models used and the applications accuracy in engineering applications.