New method of measuring thermal diffusivity of spherical produce
Abstract For homogeneous spherical produce numerically generated time-temperature data are used to develop a relationship between the Fourier number, Biot number, dimensionless radial distance and normalized temperature. This allows determination of thermal diffusivity through time-temperature measurements. The method is used to determine the thermal diffusivity of apples, oranges and portatoes. The results are compared with those from previous studies 1,2 , and good agreement is observed.