The Virtual Optimization of Pasta Production research project aimed to enhance the efficiency and quality of pasta manufacturing, a process reliant on a sequence of automated operations. Pasta production involves mixing milled wheat, water, and other optional ingredients to form dough. Modern pasta presses use vacuum chambers to eliminate air bubbles before extrusion; failure in this step can degrade the final product’s quality. The dough is then kneaded and extruded using a high-capacity auger extruder with various dies, generating heat due to pressure and friction. This heat is managed by a water cooling jacket ensuring consistent extrusion temperatures. After extrusion, pasta is dried to reduce moisture content from 31% to 12-13%, ensuring it retains shape and is shelf-stable before packaging.
The project’s scope included simulating the entire production process to achieve optimal pasta quality and appearance. Key areas of focus were:
- Rheological Analysis: Studied ingredient interactions to understand the dough’s response to temperature, wheat milling, and water.
- Mixing and Extrusion Simulation: Ensured uniform dough flow through the extruder and dies to produce consistent pasta sizes, reducing costs associated with reprocessing or discarding non-uniform pasta.
- Structural FEM Analysis: Analyzed the extruder’s working pressure to verify stresses and deformations, optimizing extruder and die shapes to minimize dough recirculation and “dead” zones, thus reducing maintenance costs and enhancing product quality.
- Drying Cycle Simulation: Controlled drying parameters to prevent pasta from cracking due to fast drying or spoiling from slow drying, ensuring pieces do not stick together and maintaining appropriate moisture gradients.
All production phases were studied, simulated, and optimized using a framework incorporating modeFRONTIER, ANSYS, Ls-Dyna, CFX, and Magma. Each phase was validated through physical tests in a pasta factory. The resulting customizable simulation model offers a tailored solution to meet specific needs of pasta manufacturers, significantly improving process efficiency and product quality.
See the full case study at: https://enginsoftusa.com/FEA-Case-Study-Pasta-Making.html