Drying, as a critical step in the production of air-dried beef, has a direct impact on the quality of the final product. Innovatively, a composite system incorporating contact ultrasound (CU) and infrared radiation (IR) as auxiliary measures within a hot air drying (HAD) framework was built in this research, and the effects of these techniques on the drying kinetics, protein denaturation, and moisture transformation of air-dried beef were investigated. In comparison to HAD treatment, the integrated CU and IR (CU-IRD) system displayed marked enhancements in heat and moisture transport efficiency, thereby saving 36.84% of time expenditure and contributing favorably to the improved moisture distribution of the end-product. This was mainly ascribed to the denaturation of myosin induced by IR thermal effect and the micro-channel produced by CU sponge effect, thus increasing T relaxation time and the proportion of free water. In conclusion, the composite system solved the problem of surface hardening and reduces hardness and chewiness of air-dried beef by 40.42% and 45.25% respectively, but inevitably increased the energy burden by 41.60%.

中文翻译：

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接触超声联合红外辐射对热风干燥过程中牛肉干燥动力学、水分迁移和物理特性的影响


干燥作为风干牛肉生产的关键步骤，直接影响最终产品的质量。本研究创新性地构建了一种在热风干燥（HAD）框架内结合接触超声（CU）和红外辐射（IR）作为辅助措施的复合系统，以及这些技术对干燥动力学、蛋白质变性和干燥性能的影响。研究了风干牛肉的水分变化。与 HAD 处理相比，集成 CU 和 IR (CU-IRD) 系统显着提高了热量和水分传输效率，从而节省了 36.84% 的时间支出，并有利于改善最终产品的水分分布。这主要归因于IR热效应引起的肌球蛋白变性和CU海绵效应产生的微通道，从而增加了T弛豫时间和自由水的比例。综上所述，该复合体系解决了表面硬化问题，使风干牛肉的硬度和咀嚼度分别降低了40.42%和45.25%，但不可避免地增加了41.60%的能量负担。