Control of the Fields and the Hysteresis Heating Process in a Microwave Resonant Applicator

Abstract

By simultaneously measuring the total input and reflected power and the intensity of the local field inside a resonant applicator, it is possible first to estimate the effective microwave field to which the material is exposed, and second, to control the microwave energy dissipated in the heated or transformed material. The instantaneous dielectric behaviour depending on the temperature or on the fields, or on the transformation stage, is also derived. Some characteristic curves, which illustrate thermal hysteresis during a given heating process are shown.