Microwave heating : A new approach of simulation and validation

Currently the distribution of microwave processes in industrial applications is sparsely spread. Reasons for this are, in particular, the inhomogeneous heating patterns and the lack of optimization potential, due to the lack of possibilities for simulation of coupled electromagnetic and thermal processes. In this work two commercial software packages have therefore been coupled to simulate local and time specified temperature distributions of microwave treated samples. The results are validated by the sophisticated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique, in order to avoid the problems of measuring temperature distributions in microwave fields. This method of measurement is non-invasive, shows high 3D spatial and time resolutions, and does not influence the electromagnetic field.