Thermal physical properties of the golden pomfret at low temperatures

Abstract

Abstract Food thermal properties are essential for calculating freezing time and analyzing energy cost during food freezing or thawing. However, there are currently few data or models of physical properties for foods below −40 °C (e.g., thermal conductivity of food at lower temperatures are lacked due to limitations of device testing below −40 °C). In this paper, the thermophysical parameters of golden pomfret were tested in the temperature range from −100 °C to room temperature. The freezing point was determined. The specific heat and enthalpy of golden pomfret were measured by using a DSC, and the thermal conductivity was measured by a novel self-designed device cooled by a pulse tube cryocooler that can give low temperatures to −253 °C. Finally, the temperature profile obtained by numerical calculation was consistent with experimental results, which proves that predicted models of thermal physical properties in this work will provide reliable data support for the cryogenic freezing of food.