Coupled thermal-electromagnetic model for microwave heating of temperature-dependent dielectric media

Microwave heating processes involve electromagnetic and thermal effects coupled together through the local temperature dependence of the material dielectric properties. This paper presents a one dimensional model for the coupled electromagnetic-thermal process and demonstrates its solutions for typical problems. The local temperature dependence of the lossy dielectric medium is taken into account in two different time scales. One is the heat-generation time scale due the microwave radiation, and the other is the temperature diffusion time scale. The two time-scale approach minimizes the computation time and provides an efficient simulation tool for the analysis of various phenomena. The two-scale model presented in this paper is benchmarked by a comparison of its numerical results with other models published in the literature. Several examples of microwave heating processes in various materials are simulated. Effects of heat-wave propagation in matter are predicted by the model. The results show the temporal and spatial evolution of the temperature and power-dissipation profiles. Variations in the (microwave) impedance profile in the medium due to the heating are computed. A further development of this model, including more complicated geometries and various loss mechanisms, may yield useful numerical tools for the synthesis and design of microwave heaters in which the heated material acts as a nonlinear load in the microwave circuit.