A novel algorithm approach for rapid simulated microwave heating of food moving on a conveyor belt

Method for Solving the Microwave Heating Temperature Distribution of the TE10 Mode

Microwave heating is a process in which the electric, magnetic, and temperature fields are coupled with each other and are characterised by strong non-linearity, high time variability, and infinite dimensionality. This paper proposes a method for predicting the microwave heating temperature distribution of the TE10 mode, because the traditional numerical calculation method is not conducive to designing microwave controllers. First, the spatial distribution of the main electromagnetic mode TE10 waves in a rectangular waveguide was analysed using the principal mode analysis method. An expression for the transient dissipated power and a heat balance equation with infinite-dimensional characteristics were constructed. Then, the microwave heating model was decomposed into electromagnetic and temperature field submodels. A time discretization approach was used to approximate the transient constant dielectric constant. The heating medium was meshed to solve the electric field strength and transient dissipated power in discrete domains, and the temperature distribution was obtained by substituting this value into the finite-dimensional temperature field submodel. Finally, the validity of the proposed numerical model was verified by comparing the results with the numerical results obtained with the conventional finite element method. The methodology presented in this paper provides a solid basis for designing microwave heating controllers.