July Newsletter
VOLUME 28 NO. 7
The Gem Memo published a little over a year ago, announced that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) work on existing fryers would normally have a minimum lead-time of 8 weeks after receipt of order. Unfortunately, not everyone, including some of Gem’s own people, got the word. Considering the state of the economy, it is not surprising that some customers expect shorter lead times for CFD services. Even with a poor economy, this company’s fryer repair and rebuild projects are a growing business. Two factors are contributing to this growth. Many processors are cutting back on their maintenance department staff. This makes them more likely to use outside help for projects with high labor content and a short downtime window to complete the job. The other factor is based on Gem’s fryer technology. The same engineering, including CFD, is used for a fryer rebuild as used in the design of a new fryer.
CFD makes a large contribution to Gem’s fryer designs. This technology makes it possible to observe oil flow through the fryer kettle on a computer monitor. It is also possible to produce a print out of fluid flow. Either method of display will show velocity and direction of the oil flow and normally pinpoint any turbulence. The design engineer utilizes this information to make sure that oil flow is consistent across the width of the fryer and to eliminate turbulence or any other flow characteristics that would reduce the effectiveness of the fryer. Use of CFD technology is not limited to either fryers or frying oil. CFD will work with any fluid, liquid or gas, and has been used by this company in the design of other equipment, including retrograde coolers, vortex pump tanks and a pneumatic separator. Advances have been made in the capabilities of CFD during the 14 plus years this company has been using the technology. The only rendition available until the late 1990’s was a two dimensional printout. At that time a CFD programming upgrade made 3 dimensional (isometric) printouts possible. The 3 dimensional rendition made it easier to pinpoint and correct flow problems in the fryers. The ability to watch the oil flow on the monitor came with a program upgrade in 2000.
Fryers can be designed without the use of CFD. The advantage of using CFD is that this technology provides a more complete analysis. The more complete analysis often makes it possible to spot problems while still in the design phase and fosters the opportunity to evaluate more solutions to a given problem. This technology has led to an upgrading of Gem’s fryer manufacturing procedures. All holes and slots that control oil flow in a fryer manufactured by this company are machined. A large machining center was purchased to make sure that the finished fryer would perform exactly as predicted by the final CFD evaluation. Back to the original purpose of this edition of the Memo: Normal lead time on engineering work requiring Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) will be 8 to 12 weeks. While it is obvious that Gem would try to accommodate orders with shorter lead-time that will not always be possible. If you have a critical need for CFD work, please allow adequate time for Gem Equipment to schedule and perform your work.