Modelling thermal diffusivity of meat during freezing

Abstract When modelling a thermal process such as freezing, it is convenient to make use of thermal property models based on the food’s composition; however, there does not appear to be any suitable models specifically for thermal diffusivity. In the absence of such models, thermal diffusivity may be determined from models for effective thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity and density as functions of composition, as well as an appropriate ice fraction model. However, the accuracy of the predictions is strongly dependent on the choice of effective thermal property models. In particular, the effective specific heat capacity model must incorporate the effect of latent heat release as a function of temperature. For meat during freezing, it is recommended that the Dul’Nev Novikov effective thermal conductivity model, Pham’s ice fraction model and Chen’s effective heat capacity model are used.