Abstract
The flash method was used to measure the thermal diffusivity of food model (starch gel) and the thermal conductivity was determined. The representative values of thermal conductivity at 15 [°C] were 0.483 [W/mK]:Xw=0.817, 0.447 [W/mK]:Xw=0.735 and 0.462 [W/mK]:Xw=0.640, where Xw indicates a mass fraction of water.
The thermal conductivity at 30 [°C], that is, 0.504 [W/mK]:Xw=0.817, was about 7% smaller than the value, 0.540 [W/mK]:Xw=0.80, reported by Drusas et al.. This difference lies in the extent of irremovable experimental error and the flash method was shown to be applicable to the measurement of thermal property of foods.
Furthermore, 4 heat conduction models were examined and it was indicated that the series model can explain well the heat transfer mechanism within the gel. The intrinsic thermal conductivity of starch was estimated to be 0.247 [W/mK] at 15 [°C] by applying the series model to the gel.
