Thermal Conductivity of Fresh Lamb Meat, Offals and Fat in the Range ‐40 to +30oC: Measurements and Correlations

The thermal conductivity of fresh lamb meat, offals and fat was measured over the temperature range -40°C to +30°C using a guarded hot plate apparatus. Simple empirical equations were presented for the conductivity of high-moisture (65 to 80%) meat and offals. With independently obtained values of physical parameters, several theoretical models were tested to sec if thermal conductivity could be calculated from composition and temperature. Over a wide range of compositions and temperatures, best predictions (in terms of mean, standard deviation and range of errors) were obtained with Levy's modification to the Maxwell-Eucken equation. Its accuracy was not unduly sensitive to the uncertainties in the values of the physical parameters, the prediction errors remaining in the range ± 10% for all reasonable values of the latter.