Numerical Investigation of the Heating Process of the Walls in Steam Sterilizers

• Published in: Chemie ingenieur technik Vol. 95; no. 9; pp. 1457 - 1466
• Main Authors: Pletzer, Simon, Miranda, Marco, Lucchesi, Marzia, Magno, Marino, Hochenauer, Christoph
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.09.2023
• Subjects: Autoclaves; Computational fluid dynamics; Steam sterilizers; Wall condensation
• ISSN: 0009-286X; 1522-2640
• DOI: 10.1002/cite.202200135

The basic principle of steam sterilization is based on high heat transfer rates from the steam to the medical device. In order to carry out this process as well as possible, the walls of the pressure chamber must be preheated. One way is to heat it with steam from the inside. To investigate this process, a three‐phase CFD model was developed, which can be used to determine the saturation temperature as a function of the partial pressure using a user‐defined function. For validation, the pressure, temperature (fluid and solid) and condensate content were measured. Results show that the model is excellently suited for predicting all relevant variables. To ensure sufficient steam sterilization, preheating of the sterilizer walls is required. Here, the heating process with steam from inside the pressure chamber is investigated using a three‐phase CFD model, which has proven to be well suited for predicting the relevant variables.