Review of computer-aided methods in fat crystallization studies

With recent improvements in computer performance, computer-aided studies have become increasingly important. Computer-aided methods have been applied in fat crystallization studies for modeling, simulation, optimization, data analysis and visualization. In this paper, various methods, such as molecular dynamic simulation, Monte Carlo, cellular automata modeling, finite element analysis, machine learning and computer vision, are introduced. Applications and advances in mechanism explanation, behavior prediction, process optimization, and so forth, are reviewed for fat crystallization. As a powerful and essential tool, computer-aided study should play an important role in the field of lipid research in the future.