Bulk thermal conductivity of malting barley

A thin-wall steel can was filled with grain of barley and submerged into a water immersion unit containing hot water. The water immersion experiments and an inverse modeling method were used to derive the bulk thermal conductivity of barley (var. Mauritia) dependent on the bulk temperature and grain moisture content. Arrhenius-type equation was applied to describe temperature and moisture content influence on barley bulk thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity increases with increasing moisture content and temperature and the values ranged from 0.124 to 0.155 W/m K. The results are of the same order as the published data received for varieties of barley different than those applied in the present study.

► We measured bulk thermal conductivity of malting barley.
► Influence of bulk temperature and grain moisture content have been studied.
► The thermal conductivity increases with increasing moisture content and temperature.
► The values of bulk thermal conductivity of barley ranged from 0.124 to 0.155 W/m K.