CFD Analysis of Coffee Packaging in Capsules using Gas Flushing Modified Atmosphere Packaging

Abstract

Abstract The aim of this work is to analyze, by means of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), the gas flow in a packaging machine used to fill polymeric capsules with coffee. The final goal is to optimize the geometric shape of some mechanical components in the machine’s sealing station in order to reduce the inert gas consumption achieving an O2 residual which is constantly equal or below 1 % by mass in the center of the capsule. The fluid domain has been obtained starting from the 3D CAD model of the sealing station of the packaging machine. The CAD software SolidWorks has been used to design the system, while Ansys CFX 14.5 software has been used for the CFD analysis. The CFD model has been validated by comparing its results with those obtained by experimental tests. The modified solution allows reducing the average O2 residual from about 3 % to less than 1 %.