MICROSCALE HEAT AND MASS-TRANSFER OF VASCULAR AND INTRACELLULAR FREEZING IN THE LIVER

A set of heat and mass transfer equations is developed to predict vascular as well as intracellular ice formation during freezing in liver tissue. A modified Krogh unit with vascular and cellular compartments is used. In the model intracellular ice formation is predicted by a probability integral with functional dependence on cell compartment volume, temperature, and time. Finite difference computer simulations qualitatively predict the amount and location of vascular and intracellular ice, the temperature distribution in the tissue, and the position of the partial and total freezing interfaces at any time.