Thermal and dielectric properties of shucked oysters

Thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat were measured for shucked oysters. Thermal conductivity increased from 0.577 to 0.677 W/m°C as temperature increased from 0 to 50°C measured by a line heat source thermal conductivity probe. Specific heat was measured using a differential scanning calorimeter. It increased from 3.795 to 4.047 kJ/kg°C when temperature was raised from 10 to 50°C. Thermal diffusivity of oysters was calculated from thermal conductivity, specific heat and density values. Dielectric properties of oysters were determined by an open-ended coaxial cable connected to a network analyser between 300 MHz and 3 GHz. At microwave frequencies of 915 and 2450 MHz, it was observed that the dielectric constant decreased (64.02-50.89 at 915 MHz and 59.10-47.67 at 2450 MHz), while the loss factor increased (13.84-20.14) at 915 MHz as temperature increased from 1 to 55°C. Models were developed to describe the temperature effects on thermal and dielectric properties of shucked oysters.