Pizza3: A general simulation framework to simulate food-mechanical and food-deconstruction problems.

Current mesh-based simulation approaches face significant challenges in continuously modeling the mechanical behaviors of foods through processing, storage, deconstruction, and digestion. This is primarily due to the limitations of continuum mechanics in dealing with systems characterized by free boundaries, substantial deformations, mechanical failures, and non-homogenized mechanical properties. The dynamic nature of food microstructure and the transformation of the food bolus, in relation to its composition, present formidable obstacles in computer-aided food design. In response, the Pizza3 project adopts an innovative methodology, utilizing an explicit microstructural representation to construct and subsequently deconstruct food products in a modular, Lego-like fashion. Central to this simulation approach are "food atoms", conceptualized from the principles of smoothed particle hydrodynamics. These units are significantly larger than actual atoms but are finely scaled to represent both solid and liquid states of food faithfully. In solid phases, food atoms interact via pairwise forces akin to bond-peridynamic methods, thus extending the capabilities of continuum mechanics to encompass large deformations and fracturing phenomena. For liquids, the model employs artificial conservative and dissipative forces, enabling the simulation of a variety of phenomena within the framework of partial compressibility. The interaction dynamics between rigid and soft objects and fluids are accurately captured through Hertzian contact mechanics, offering a versatile parameterization applicable to impermeable (but possibly penetrable) surfaces and enforcing no-slip conditions. The efficacy of this framework is showcased through the successful modeling of three time-dependent 3D scenarios, each rigorously validated against established analytical and experimental models. Advancing beyond these initial applications, the framework is further extended to more intricate cases inadequately addressed in current literature. This extension sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of in-mouth texture perception, offering new insights and tools for food engineering and design.

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Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.