JoumalofFoodEngineering 14 (1991) 71-82

Evaluation of the Precision of the Modified Fitch Method

for Thermal Conductivity Measurement of Foods

Md. Shafiur Rahman

Department of Food Science and Technology, The University of New South Wales, PO
Box 1, Kensington, NSW 2033, Australia

(Received 23 May 1990; revised version received 1 October 1990;

accepted 10 October 1990)

ABSTRACT

A device was developed for measurement of thermal conductivityof solid

food materialsabove and below freezing. The system is a modtficationof
the Fitch apparatus. A disc-shaped sample with a constant thickness is
placed in the compartment between a copper rod and a copper disc. The
disc and rod act as a heat source and sink. The instrument wastestedand
calibrated by measuring the thermal conductivityof ice, frozen chicken
meat (white),fresh potato and apple.

NOTATION

A Contact area of sample and discs (m*)

C Specific heat (J/kg “C)
D Sample diameter (m)
k Thermal conductivity of sample (W/m “C)
1 Compartment thickness (m)
M Mass (kg)
s F;p; ;i the line In[( TO- T,)/( T - T,)] versus t
t
T Temperature (“C)

o Percentage error

Subscripts

Copper
F Modified Fitch method
71
Journal of Food Engineering 0260-8774/91/$03.50 - 0 1991 Elsevier Science
Publishers Ltd, England. Printed in Great Britain
72 Md. S. Rahmun

0 Initial
p Probe method
s Surface of the copper rod

INTRODUCTION

Measurement of thermal conductivity presents more of a challenge than

measurement of other thermal properties because thermal conductivity
depends on the structure or physical arrangement of the sample (voids,
inhomogeneities, particle-to-particle contact, etc.) as well as on the
chemical composition. Many measurement techniques have been
discussed by Mohsenin ( 1980), Reidy and Rippen ( 197 1) and Murakami
and Okos (1989). Some well-established standard techniques, such as the
guarded hot plate, work well for non-biological materials, but are not
well suited for foods because of long temperature equilibration times,
moisture migration in the sample and the large sample size required
(Sweat, 1986).
The line heat-source thermal conductivity probe is recommended for
most food application. It is simple and fast and requires relatively small
sample sizes. But, it requires a fairly sophisticated data acquisition
system (Sweat, 1986). For the line source method, a sample of at least
diameter 1.9 cm and length 1.5 cm is needed for food samples having
thermal diffusivities of the same order of magnitude as that of water
(Mohsenin, 1980). There are also difficulties in using the probe method
for measuring the thermal conductivity of ice due to its high thermal
diffusivity (Sweat, 1986).
Thermal conductivity measurement is difficult when the sample
cannot be cut into the minimum cylindrical or slab size required for the
probe or other methods, e.g. grains, beans, nuts and sea foods. In this
case, buIk thermal conductivity, a combined property of materials and
air in the pore spaces, is usually measured. Bulk conductivity may be
suitable for calculating heat transfer in processes that involve stationary
materials (i.e. batch drying and cooling) but thermal conductivity of
individual particles is necessary for calculating heat transfer when
materials are either in motion or surrounded by the heating or cooling
medium (Zuritz et al., 1989). Bulk thermal conductivity is not appro-
priate in evaluating heat transfer in processes like continuous flow drying
and freezing, soaking and blanching. Published reports on the deter-
mination of thermal conductivity of small materials are few (Zuritz et al.,
1989).
 Modified Fitch method for thermal conductivity 73

The Fitch method (Fitch, 1935) consists of a heat source/sink in the

form of a vessel filled with a constant-temperature liquid and a sink/
source in the form of a copper plug insulated on all sides but one (Fig. 1).
The sample is sandwiched between the vessel and the open face of the
plug. Zuritz et al. (1989) modified the Fitch-type apparatus for small
food samples. However, with the Fitch-type apparatus, there is an
optimum sample thickness for best results for a given material
(Mohsenin, 1980). Bennett et al. (1962) used silicon rubber (k = O-2465
W/m K) for determinin g the optimum sample thickness for their Fitch-
type instrument. They determined the thermal conductivity of rubber at
three different sample thicknesses and considered the optimum sample
thickness as that which gave the lowest error. In that case the optimum
sample thickness was 6.35 mm. Then the authors used that sample
thickness for measuring the thermal conductivity of Valencia orange.
Walters and May ( 1963) also used a Fitch-type apparatus to determine
the conductivity of chicken muscle, but they did not mention how
optimum sample thickness was chosen. Zuritz et al. ( 1989) estimated the
upper limit of optimum sample thickness by an order of magnitude
analysis. They used glass (k = 1.04 W/m K) to calibrate their apparatus.
The objective of this study was to modify a Fitch-type apparatus for
small-sized food materials, to apply this to measurements below freezing
and to study the effect of sample thickness on the measured thermal
conductivity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Construction

::. ;.
..
.
The apparatus which was a further modification of the Zuritz et al.
(1989) apparatus, is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of a constant-tempera-

c‘. . .
:. I,.
. ..

. i::
.‘: :.

~~~
..
\ i+
,..
,’

. .
.
.

Fig. 1. Fitch apparatus. c, Copper plug; i, insulation; 1,liquid; s, sample.

74 Md. S. Rahman

Fig. 2. (1) Vacuum flask. (2) Copper disc assembly. (3) Copper rod assembly. c,
Copper disc; d, polystyrene disc; e, copper rod; i, insulation; r, rubber cork; s, sample
compartment. (All dimensions in mm.)

ture insulated vacuum flask (thermos bottle) with a specially designed

stopper and an insulated copper disc. A tapered cork stopper, pierced
through the centre by a 19-mm solid copper rod, seals the vacuum flask.
A polystyrene disc is glued to the top of the cork stopper. A 15-mm
diameter copper disc is held in a polystyrene disc which has a compart-
ment for placing the disc-shape sample. Two thermocouples are installed
on the surface of the copper rod and disc. Clamps were used to hold the
discs during experiments. The sample compartment depth and diameter
was varied by fixing a rubber ring to the surface of the polystyrene disc.

Theory

The quasi-steady conduction heat transfer through the sample yields the
following simplified equation (Fitch, 1935; Mohsenin, 1980):
 Modified Fitch method for thermal conductivity 75

AW-JM
c
c

c
c (1)
1 dt

with the initial condition:

at t=O, T= To
The solution of eqn ( 1) with the initial condition is:

The thermal conductivity (k) can be calculated from the slope of the plot
of ln[( To- T,)/( T - T,)] versus t.
The precision and error depend on the applicability of eqn (1). There
will be minimum error and higher precision (i.e. quasi-steady state) when
eqn (1) is satisfied. Hence, the error arises due to not satisfying quasi-
steady conduction and depends on A, k,, T,, 1, M,, C, and t. The slope
(S) is the response of the apparatus and can be written as:

Hence, the response will depend on A, I and M,. The values of A, 1 and
M, should be fixed based on practical considerations and limitations. For
example, the response will increase with decreasing thickness (I), which
is good up to a point when I cannot be measured precisely. Again,
conductivity of fresh food is slightly dependent on temperature above
freezing, but below freezing conductivity changes significantly with
temperature. In this case, a lower I will give a higher response, which will
reduce precision. Also, the highest response is limited by the heat
transfer from the copper disc to the polystyrene disc. Zuritz et al. ( 1989)
found that the heat transfer rate between the copper plug and its insula-
tion became significant (i.e. > 10% error) when the temperature change
in the copper plug exceeded 15°C.
The instrument was calibrated, and a correction factor defined as the
ratio of the thermal conductivities measured by the probe and by the
Fitch method:

f = kplkf
The correction factor ( f ) was correlated by multiple regression as:
f=a +bl+ck, (5)
76 Md. S. Rahman

The accuracy of the method was evaluated by comparison with

independent measurements on different food materials. The error was
calculated as the percentage deviation:

Experimental procedure above freezing

There is a need for standard samples for calibrating any apparatus.

Sweat ( 1986) mentioned that water and glycerine cover the range from
O-3 to 0.6 W/m “C, but good standards have not been found for lower
thermal conductivities. Here, the apparatus was calibrated by measuring
the thermal conductivity of fresh apple and potato. The sample and the
copper disc assembly were kept at room temperature. The vacuum flask
was filled with crushed ice and water. A digital thermometer which had
an accuracy of f O*l”C was used for measuring temperature. The test
duration was always 240 s and temperature was recorded at 10-s
intervals. Before each test, the copper disc and the samples were allowed
to equilibrate to room temperature. The thermal conductivities of fresh
apple and potato were measured by the probe method which had a
maximum error of 5%, before measuring by the modified Fitch method.
The probe error was calculated by measuring the thermal conductivities
of glycerine and water (0*5% agar). Rahman et al. (in press) provide
details of the apparatus used. The probe size was 1.25 mm outside
diameter and 38 mm long. A double-length Teflon-insulated constantan
wire of O-076 mm diameter was placed inside the probe needle as the
heated line source and temperature was measured with a Teflon-
insulated chromel-constantan thermocouple of 0.076 mm diameter.

Experimental procedure below freezing

The apparatus was calibrated by measuring the thermal conductivity of

ice and chicken meat (white). The compartment in the polystyrene disc
was filled with water or fresh chicken meat and then cooled down to
- 30 to - 35°C in a freezer. The vacuum flask was filled with ethylene
glycol at between - 8 and - 12°C. A thin aluminium foil was used to
cover the water during cooling so that a horizontal smooth surface of ice
can be formed. A thin layer of ethylene glycol was kept on the copper
rod surface to dissolve solid ice formed from the atmosphere and also to
reduce the contact resistance. The aluminium foil also prevented
 Modified Fitch method for thermal conductivity 77

diffusion of the ethylene glycol into the frozen sample during the experi-
ments. The thermal conductivity value was recorded at the mean sample
temperature during the experiment. The duration was always 180 s and
the temperature was recorded at 1O-s intervals.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The main advantages of this modification over any other Fitch-type

apparatus are:
(1) heat loss from the edge of the sample is negligible; and
(2) all other Fitch or modified Fitch-type apparatus permit expansion
of the sample in the radial direction causing a reduction in thick-
ness, an increase in heat transfer area and extrusion of liquid from
the sample. The sample compartment between copper rod and
disc prevent the above problems.
The response (i.e. slope) of the apparatus (MC = 8.132 X 10 - 3 kg and
D = 10 x 10e3 m) is plotted in Fig. 3 for fresh potato and apple. The
slope decreased with increase of sample thickness, but there were no
significant differences between the response of potato and apple. This
was improved by increasing the heat transfer area in the apparatus
(M,=8+648 x 10e3 and D= 15 X 10m3 m) and the results are given in

3.0
A
A apple
A0 0 potato

2.0 -
m A
A
0 AA
4
X 430
A
A
dB
: l.O- 4&g Q 6%
0”
G A 0
h 0
I A 0
0.0 ! I I I I I I

o 2 4 6 8 10 12
Sample thickness(mm)
Fig. 3. Effect of sample thickness on response (slope) for M, = 8.132 x lo-’ kg and
D= 10X 10v3m.
 78 Md. S. Rahman

Figs 4 and 5. The apparatus was calibrated by measuring the thermal

conductivities of fresh apple and potato of different thicknesses and the
correction factor was correlated with the sample thickness (in the range
3.6-6 mm) as:
f = 3.95 + 97.9 I- 5.3 k, (7)
The correction factors varied with the thermal conductivity value and
sample thickness when A and M, remain constant. Hence it will not give
an accurate value if a constant factor is used for all conductivities as used
by previous authors (Bennett et al., 1962; Walters & May, 1963; Zuritz
et al., 1989). The error of this apparatus was predicted by independent
measurement of the thermal conductivities of fresh apple, carrot,
calamari, fat (beef), pear and squid samples of 4 mm thickness. The
maximum percentage error for this apparatus was 5% at temperatures
above freezing (Table 1).
Thermal conductivity measurement on food materials below freezing
is more difficult than above freezing. Sweat et al. (1973) mentioned that
there is lack of information about thermal properties of frozen foods.
There are no literature references on the use of the Fitch method below
freezing although it can be used for frozen foods. The main problem
below freezing was the higher response (i.e. higher temperature rise in

3.0 I
0 apple
A potato

m 2.0 -
0

X
G

; l.O-

v,

0 2 4 6 8 10
Sample thicknessfm m)

Fig. 4. Effect of sample thickness on response (slope) for M, = 8.648 x lo-’ kg and
D=15X10-3m.
 Modified Fitch method for thermal conductivity 79

7 0.0
A chicken meat

9.0- 0 ice

8.0-
m
0
7.0 -
2
m
6.0 -
W
a
0 \
u-l 5.0 -

4.0 - \

3.0- 3
Sample thick ness (m m)
Fig. 5. Effect of sample thickness on response (slope) for M, = 8.648 X 10e3 kg and
D= 15 x 10e3 m.

the sample) due to the high conductivity value. For example, ice has a
thermal conductivity value four tunes higher than water. Also, the
thermal conductivity of frozen material changes significantly with
temperature. Another problem might be the heat losses or gains between
the sample and surrounding air due to the high temperature gradient
(35-50°C). The apparatus was calibrated by measuring the thermal
conductivities of ice and frozen chicken meat and the correction factors
are correlated with the sample thickness (range: 4-7 mm) as:

f=3*77-6951+6_91k, (8)

The error was predicted by independent measurement of ice and

chicken meat with a sample thickness of 7 mm. A higher sample
thickness and a shorter duration (180 s) were used for frozen samples to
reduce the temperature rise. The temperature rise of the frozen sample
was lo-15°C while in the conventional probe it should be at Ieast 7°C
for adequate response (Baghe-Khandan ef al., 1981). The higher
temperature rise in the modified Fitch method might be a major problem
 80 Md. S. Rahman

TABLE 1
Percentage Error of Modified Fitch Apparatus at Temperatures Above Freezing
(M,=8~648~10-~kg;D=15x10-~m;Z=4x10-~m)

Material Moisture Thermal conductivityb Percentage

content” (Wm “C) error
(% wet basis) (eqn (6))
Modified Probe
Fitch method method

Apple’ 83.01 0.406 0.401 1.2

(0.023) (O-012)
Calamari d 80.15 0.517 0.508 1.7
(mantle) (0.033) (0,021)
Carrote 89.91 0.509 0.532 4.5
(0.029) (0.017)
Fat (beef) 14.11 0.278 0.264 5.0
(0.020) (0010)
Macadamia nut f 1.64 0.224 - -
(0.008)
pears 88.11 0.514 0.533 3.7
(0.035) (0.013)
Potatoh 81.94 0.523 0.536 2.5
(0.016) (0.021)
Squid ’ 78.09 0.501 0.475 5.2
(tentacle) (0.015) (0.025)
Squid * 79.28 0.507 0.483 4.7
(mantle) (0.039) (0.017)

Values in parentheses are standard deviation.

“Mean of three readings.
bMean of six readings.
‘Golden delicious.
Medium.
‘Large.
Plntegrifolia.
rGreen.
hWhite.
‘Arrow.

in using this apparatus below freezing. Hence, eqn (8) is valid only when
the average sample temperature remains around - 25°C during the
experiment. The maximum percentage error for frozen material was 9%
of the conductivity at the average sample temperature during the experi-
ment (Table 2). The rise in the sample temperature could be reduced by
increasing the copper disc mass (M,) or reducing the contact area (A ).
 Modified Fitch method for thermal conductivity 81

TABLE 2
F’ercentage Error of Modified Fitch Apparatus at Temperatures Below Freezing
(M,=8~648~10-~kg;D=15x10-~m;Z=7x10-~m)

Material Moisture Thermal conductivit)P Percentage

contenf (Wm “C) error
(eqn (6))
Modified Probe
Fitch method method

Ice 100.0 2578 (0.065) 2.430” 5.7

Chicken meat 83.6 1.268 (0.057) 1.387’ 9.4
(white)

Values in parentheses are standard deviation.

aMean of three readings.
bChoi & Okos (1985).
‘Sweat et al. (1973).
dAverage temperature of ice and chicken meat were - 24°C and - 26°C during experi-
ment.

CONCLUSION

The apparatus described provides accurate measurement of thermal

conductivities of materials which can be formed into disc-shaped
samples (diameter 15 X 10m3 m and thickness 4-7 X 10m3 m). After
calibration this method gave 5% error above freezing and 9% error
below freezing.

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