Computational and numerical modeling of rice hydration and dehydration: A review

Cooking of rice is a complex process, as the processes such
as, water uptake, heat transfer, gelatinization and structural
changes take place simultaneously. Dehydration of rice is
another important process; thereby, required moisture content
is achieved for better storage. Computational and numerical
modeling tools can be used to study and understand
these complex changes occurring during rice hydration and
dehydration. The results from previous studies have shown
that the computational and numerical modeling can be
used for predicting the moisture content, diffusion coefficient,
temperature profile etc. This review provides information
about various modeling techniques such as finite element,
finite difference, numerical and computational methods
used by many researchers in the context of explaining the
rice hydration and dehydration processes. The recent developments
in this research area such as, three dimensional
modeling and validation using magnetic resonance imaging
have also been discussed. In addition, the current limitations
and future scope for the potential research in this area are
also highlighted.