A study of dilatation and acoustic propagation in solidifying fats and oils: II. Experimental

Experimental evidence is presented to support the hypothesis that acoustic dilatation is linearly related to solid fat index dilation. This hypothesis is shown to be consistent with the measured temperature dependence of the dilation and ultrasonic velocity during solidification of palm oil, coconut oil, tristearin and a vegetable fat, all of which were diluted with triolein. The maximum solid content examined was 15%. The ultrasonic pulse echo method may provide a means of measuring the solid content of oils and of indicating the presence of phase transitions in the solid phase.