Carson L. Wiles
Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA
Sathish Kumar Gurupatham
Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA
Valmiki K. Sooklal
Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA
Kim Hanseul
Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA
Jonathon Kitchel
Kennesaw State University, Marietta, GA 30060, USA
The knowledge of temperature field in any product is essential for the design and optimization of the conductive heat transfer from its boundary for the optimum storage conditions. It becomes even more critical for fruits since they require to be maintained slightly higher than the freezing point of it, constantly, to avoid the damages at a premature state. It is interesting to observe that the rind and the juicy part of the fruit have different thermal conductivity and the heat transfer calculations assume it to be the same. This paper investigates the differences in heat transfer calculations arising due to this assumption inside a watermelon that is subjected to a varied temperature of the surrounding condition. The experimental results show that there is a significant change in the heat transfer and the temperature drop across the rind of the watermelon.