Evaluation of maximum wall shear stress from air impingement to remove food deposits from stainless steel surfaces

The risk of cross-contamination during manufacturing of low water activity foods requires careful attention to cleaning and sanitation. Considering the challenges encountered in such manufacturing, air impingement can provide a unique approach to remove deposits from the food-contacted surface, particularly, the crevices or cracks. The objective of this study was to evaluate the shear stress-induced by air jet impingement for removal of food residues. The wall shear stress distribution on a surface below an air jet was measured using oil-film interferometry. The air impingement was operated at three level of air velocity (Reynolds number = 7756, 13,444, and 18,787) and three different nozzle height (24 (H/D = 6), 32 (H/D = 8), 40 mm (H/D = 10)). The shear stress was found to become higher along with the increase of air velocity and decrease of nozzle height. The observed distribution of wall shear stress on the surface was fitted using the Gaussian model and Polynomial model. The Gaussian model appeared to be preferable according to the statistical analysis, which aligned with previous literature. Based on the Gaussian model, the maximum wall shear stress was estimated. The maximum wall shear stress increased with Reynolds number (Re) and the ratio of jet height to jet nozzle diameter. The highest maximum shear stress (10.74 Pa) occurred at a Reynolds number of 18,787 and a height of 24 mm (H/D = 6). This trend was directly correlated with removal efficiency. The greatest removal of the treatment was achieved by 40% at maximum wall shear stress. A linear relationship between percent residue removed and maximum wall shear stress was obtained from the experimental results, and a threshold maximum wall shear stress of 2.73 Pa has been proposed for removal of peanut butter residue from a stainless-steel surface. The current study demonstrates the promising of the air impingement in the cleaning operation for low water activity food.