Experimental design and modeling of fill and oxygen levels in beer canning.

Patino, H., Knudsen, F.B., Storer, J. and Theisen, T.

Abstract
As an alternative to the careful training of operators for filling, models can be developed which reveal the behaviour of the filling line. First the task of evaluating filler performance under given filler conditions is undertaken. Two sources of variability may be present: (1) the differences between filling valves and (2) differences between a single valve's performance over successive filler revolutions. Performance may be difficult to assess since under normal quality control conditions since only a very small fraction of filled containers will be sampled. This presents problems in modelling since valves having performances significantly different from the others on the filler may not be detected for some time. Once this problem is solved, investigations to determine how filler settings affect fill and oxygen levels can be initiated. After the non critical variables are eliminated from the final model, the important variables can be assessed one by one. Two examples of model building and response methodology are given.
Keywords : beer canning efficiency experimentation filling model simulation oxygen