Development of a Linear Heat Source Probe and Determination of Banana Thermal Conductivity

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop a linear heat source probe in order to measure the effective thermal conductivity of food products. In this study, such heat source probe was applied to measure the effective thermal conductivity of bananas and to evaluate its relation with the moisture contents of the product, in the range of 63-85% (wet basis). The values obtained to thermal conductivity ranged from 0.3 to 0.55 W/m°C and were fitted to empirical equations. The predicted effective thermal conductivity presented satisfactory agreement with literature data and the best adjustment to thermal conductivity was given by the linear equation k = 0.8975U – 0.1568, with R2 of 0.8414. Furthermore, the banana was selected in this study because it is an important food due to its intense worldwide commercialization and high nutritional value and also because it has been increasingly produced in dry form, in a new range of products with higher added value and lower transportation costs.