FoodTech Calc Thermal Food Physical Properties Estimator

Food Physical Properties Estimator

Density · Specific Heat · Thermal Conductivity — Choi & Okos Model (1986)
Presets:

Proximate Composition

wt %
Carbohydrate (CHO)
%
Fat
%
Protein
%
Fiber
%
Ash
%
Water (auto-calc)
%
Siebel cp
4.180·Xw + 1.547·Xprot + 1.672·Xfat + 1.42·Xcho + 0.836·Xash

Composition Breakdown

Awaiting Input

Physical Properties at Temperature

Awaiting Input
Property / Unit
T₁
T₂
T₃
°C — editable
Property 30 °C 60 °C 90 °C
Density ρkg/m³
Specific Heat cpkJ/kg·K
Thermal Cond. kW/m·K
Siebel cpkJ/kg·K (comp. only)

Interactive Plot — Controls

Y Axis — Physical Property
X Axis — From
°C
X Axis — To
°C
Temperature Step
Temperature step = interval between plotted points · Hover for values

Physical Property vs Temperature

Specific Heat cp (kJ/kg·K)
Enter a valid composition
to generate the plot
Choi & Okos Model (1986)
Predictive Equations for Physical Properties of Food Components

Estimates physical properties of food products from proximate composition using temperature-dependent polynomial equations for each pure component, then applies mixture rules.

Mixing Rules
$$\rho_{\text{mix}} = \frac{1}{\displaystyle\sum_{i} \dfrac{X_i}{\rho_i(T)}} \quad \text{[volume additivity]}$$
$$c_{p,\text{mix}} = \sum_{i} X_i \cdot c_{p,i}(T) \quad \text{[mass-weighted sum]}$$
$$k_{\text{mix}} = \rho_{\text{mix}} \sum_{i} \frac{X_i \cdot k_i(T)}{\rho_i(T)} \quad \text{[volume-fraction weighted]}$$
Component Polynomial
$$P(T) = A + B \cdot T + C \cdot T^2$$
[1] Choi, Y. & Okos, M. R. (1986). Effects of temperature and composition on the thermal properties of foods. In Le Maguer & Jelen (Eds.), Food Engineering and Process Applications, Vol. 1: Transport Phenomena, pp. 93–101. Elsevier Applied Science Publishers.

[2] Singh, R. P. & Heldman, D. R. (2014). Introduction to Food Engineering, 5th Ed. Academic Press / Elsevier. Table A.2.9 — Coefficients to Estimate Food Properties.

[3] Sahin, S. & Sumnu, S. G. (2006). Physical Properties of Foods. Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-30808-1.

Note: Water \(c_p\) uses the 0–150°C formula: $$c_p = 4.1762 - 9.0864 \times 10^{-5} \cdot T + 5.4731 \times 10^{-6} \cdot T^2$$ Density assumes volume additivity (parallel model).