An alternative method on dynamic analysis of food mastication based on discrete element method

The consumption of food inside mouth involves various oral operations, such as first bite, chewing and mastication, transportation, bolus formation, swallowing, etc, which are essential procedures not only for the consumption and digestion of food, but also for the appreciation and pleasure of food texture and flavors. Despite continuous efforts made by scientists from food, psychology, physiology, dental and clinical studies, and other scopes, exact mechanisms and governing principles of these oral operations are still not fully understood. Recent progresses and literature findings about the techniques to study food processing and transformation in mouth are reviewed. Previous hardware and software techniques to study the relationships between food properties, mastication process are incapable of analyzing food breaking, blending, transforming behaviors in mouth. A software solution to investigate food mastication by discrete element method (DEM) is put forward in this article. Based on discussion of the application statues of DEM, the feasibility and advantages of DEM to study food mastication process are analyzed, and the key techniques involved are presented.