Cfd analysis of coffee packaging in capsules using gas flushing modified atmosphere packaging

The aim of this work is to analyze, by means of CFD, 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 of the mechanical components in the machine's sealing station in order to reduce inert gas consumption (N2 in this case) and, at the same time, achieve 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 thethe sealing station of the packaging machine. The CAD software SolidWorks (version 2014) 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 the simulation results with those obtained by experimental tests. The modified solution allows reducing the O2 residual from almost 3% to less than 1%.