Comparison of Three Methods of Estimating the Effective Diffusivity of Moisture in Meat from Drying Data

S The diffusivity of water in meat was experimentally determined using a drying technique. Three different mathematical methods were used to determine the diffusivity from the drying data. The first assumes constant diffusivity, volume, temperature and surface moisture concentration. The second assumes a convective boundary condition. The last also takes into account shrinkage. Important differences on the calculated diffusivity were found using these three different methods.