Large-strain anisotropic behavior of meat during cooking: A finite element study.

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of anisotropy in the deformation of meat during cooking, and how it influences transport properties such as diffusion and thermal conductivity. To address this multiphysics problem a Finite Element model was developed, coupling mass transfer of water with thermal energy transport and large-strain solid mechanics. To account for fiber directionality, an anisotropic constitutive model with swelling-driven deformation is implemented. Particular emphasis is given to the definition of the reference configuration. Numerical simulations reveal that fiber orientation significantly influences the local stretch and overall shape evolution during pan frying. The magnitude and anisotropy of the deformation are sensitive to the swelling parameters and the fiber stiffness. These findings offer insights into the physical origin of cooking-induced texture transformations in meat and provide a framework for modeling fibrous biological materials undergoing thermal and fluid-driven processes.