Thermal Properties

THERMAL PROPERTIES
THERMAL PROPERTIES
• These properties are involved in almost every food processing operation.

• Knowledge of the thermal properties of foods is essential in the analysis and
design of various food processes and food processing equipment involved in heat
transport, with respect to heat transfer or energy use, such as in extrusion
cooking, drying, sterilization, cooking etc.
• Thermal characteristics as specific heat capacity (Cp), thermal conductivity (K),

thermal diffusivity (a), surface conductance, and emissivity as well as physical
characteristics such as density, shape and size is essential for design of processing
equipment and control of the processes
Importance of studying thermal properties of biological materials
i. To determine the extent of biological materials involved in the heat transfer

interaction in terms of space, time and temperature.
ii. Determines how heat transfer in food can affect the quality of the final
product.
iii. Determination of energy cost and for the dimensions of machinery and
equipment that are needed in thermal processes.
iv. Analysis and design of various food processes and food processing equipment.
The most important thermal properties in agricultural
products and food processing are:
1. Specific heat capacity

To determine energy cost and also the dimensions of machinery and
equipment that are needed.
2. Thermal Emissivity
How they emit their temperatures with current surrounding.
3. Thermal diffusivity
For predicting temperature in these food processes.
4. Thermal conductivity
1. Specific heat capacity
• Specific heat capacity:-refers to the heat required to raise the temperature by 1°C
for unit mass of the body.
• The specific heat capacity of agricultural products depends mostly on their
moisture content and temperature.
• Depending on Moisture content Specific heat of agricultural materials can be
calculated from:
C = cd(1-U1) + cwU1
Where cd - specific heat of dry material
U1 – moisture content on wet basis
cw – specific heat of water 4.18
5
Specific heat cont..
 Depending on temperature, it can be calculated from
Q = mc (T2-T1)
Where Q = Quantity of heat
m = mass of specimen
c = specific heat at constant pressure
T1= Initial temperature and
T2= Final temperature
 Specific heat capacity is measured through
 Calorimeter method
 Guarded plate method
Specific heat Cont..
• Specific heat has an important role in determination of energy cost and for the
dimensions of machinery and equipment that are needed in thermal processes.
• Specific heat (Cp) of food materials changes according to their physical and
chemical properties.
• Heating or cooling of agricultural products may be accomplished by the method

of convection, conduction, and radiation.
• Thermal Conductivity and diffusivity – useful in heating and cooling operations
Specific heat Cont..
• All of the three basic mechanisms of heat transfer, that is, conduction,
convection, and radiation, can occur in physical situations involving biomaterials,
• but of these three, conduction is usually most important in determining the
heat transfer within the biomaterial itself.
• The ability of a biomaterial to transport energy by conduction is best

characterized in the steady state by its thermal conductivity, k, and in the
nonsteady state by its thermal diffusivity, ἀ,
2. Thermal Conductivity
• Thermal Conductivity (k):-is defined as the amount of heat flows
through unit thickness of material over an unit area per unit time for
temperature difference.
• Thermal conductivity is a measure of the material’s ability to conduct

heat.
• The thermal conductivity (k) of food determines how fast heat can be
evenly transferred to the entire food mass, which in turn affects the
quality of the final product.
Thermal Conductivity cont..
 Coefficient of conductivity: is the rate of flow heat per unit area per
unit temperature gradient across the solid.
 Thermal conductivity depends on;

i. Temperature,
ii. physical properties of the material,
iii. water content, and the
iv. pressure on the material
Determination of thermal conductivity of grains and
food materials
• The measurement of thermal conductivity of agricultural grains poses much

problem because it depends on the structure and chemical composition of the
grain.
• Thermal conductivity probe is used for measurement of thermal conductivity of

most of the food materials.
• The probe consists of a hypodermic needle of 0.66 mm diameter and connected

to handle. A0.077 mm diameter constantan heater wire insulated with plastic
spaghetti tubing is inside the needle.
• The wire is taken from the handle to the top and back
• The purpose of using constant wire is to avoid the change in electrical
resistance with temperature.
• The insulated chromel constantan thermocouples wire 0.051 mm in
diameter is wrapped around the upper half of the probe handle and
the needle tip.
• The line-heat source probe is inserted into the sample having uniform
initial temperature.
• The probe is heated at a constant rate, and the temperature adjacent
to line-heat source is monitored.
• After a brief transient period, the plot of natural logarithm of time us
temperature is plotted, which has a slope equal to Q/4π K.
• The thermal conductivity of material can be estimated by the following equation:
ln [(t2-t0)/t1-t0)]
• K= Q
4 π(T2-T1)
Where,
K=thermal conductivity of the sample, W/m °C
Q=Power generated by the probe heater, W/m
t1 and t2=time since probe is energized, S
t0=time conductance factor, S
T1 andT2=temperature of probe thermocouple at time t1 and t2
respectively, °C
 Also thermal conductivity can be calculated as follows:
k = QL
AΔT
Where,
k = Thermal conductivity (Wm-1K-1)
Q = amount of heat transferred through the material (Js-1)
A = Area of the body (m2)
ΔT = Temperature difference (K)
L = Thickness of the material (m)
• The thermal conductivity of single grain ranges from 0.3-0.6
kcal/m.hr.°C and bulk grain varies from 0.10-0.15 kcal/m.hr.°C.
• The difference is due to the air spaces present in the bulk grain.
• The thermal conductivity of air is 0.02 kcal/m.hr.°C.
3. Thermal Emissivity OR Absorptivity
• Thermal Emissivity(E):- It is a ratio of total Emissive power of a
blackbody to the same temperature. OR
• This thermal constant is associated with the rate of heat transfer by

radiation from a hot body to a cold body.
• Thermal Absorptivity: Refers to the fraction of the radiation energy

incident on a surface that is absorbed by the surface.
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4. Thermal Diffusivity
 Thermal diffusivity (α):-It is rate at which heat is diffused out of the materials. It is
the ratio between thermal conductivity to volumetric heat capacity (specific heat
capacity at constant pressure)
 Materials of large thermal diffusivity will respond quickly to changes in their

thermal environment, whereas materials of small thermal diffusivity will respond
more slowly (heat is mostly absorbed), taking longer to reach a new equilibrium
condition.
 When heating and cooling of materials involves unsteady state or transient heat
conduction, the material temperature changes with time and knowledge of the
thermal diffusivity is required for predicting temperature in these processes
Thermal Diffusivity cont..
K
• µ=
ρCp
Where ,
µ = thermal diffusivity
K= thermal conductivity
ρ= mass density
Cp= specific heat
• Thermal diffusivity is important in determination of heat transfer rates in solid

food materials of any shape.
• Physically it shows the relationship between the ability of a material to conduct
heat to its ability to store heat.

Thermal Properties

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THERMAL PROPERTIES

• These properties are involved in almost every food processing operation.

• Thermal characteristics as specific heat capacity (Cp), thermal conductivity (K),

i. To determine the extent of biological materials involved in the heat transfer

1. Specific heat capacity

• Heating or cooling of agricultural products may be accomplished by the method

• The ability of a biomaterial to transport energy by conduction is best

• Thermal conductivity is a measure of the material’s ability to conduct

 Thermal conductivity depends on;

• The measurement of thermal conductivity of agricultural grains poses much

• Thermal conductivity probe is used for measurement of thermal conductivity of

• The probe consists of a hypodermic needle of 0.66 mm diameter and connected

• This thermal constant is associated with the rate of heat transfer by

• Thermal Absorptivity: Refers to the fraction of the radiation energy

 Materials of large thermal diffusivity will respond quickly to changes in their

• Thermal diffusivity is important in determination of heat transfer rates in solid

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