Measurement of thermal properties of white Radish (R. raphanistrum)

Thermal properties are necessary for the design and control of processes and storage facilities of food materials. This study proposes the measurement of thermal properties using easily constructed probes with specific heat capacity calculated, as opposed to the use of Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) or other. These probes were constructed and used to measure thermal properties of white radish in the temperature range of 80 - 20°C and moisture content of 91-6.1% wb. Results showed thermal properties were within the range of 0.71- 0.111 W/m/C for thermal conductivity, 1.869*10**-7 - 0.72*10**-8 m**2/s for thermal diffusivity and 4.316 - 1.977 kJ/kg/C for specific heat capacity. These results agree with reports for similar products studied using DSC and commercially available line heat source probes. Empirical models were developed for each property through linear multiple regressions . The data generated would be useful in modeling and control of its processing and equipment design.