Experimental study of the microwave field uniformity coefficient of six sources in the microwave-convective area

Abstract

The article presents the data obtained as a result of an experiment on the distribution of the microwave field and the power dissipated in a dense grain layer at different material humidity and waveguide configurations. The development of processing modes with the use of electrical technologies and electromagnetic fields will reduce the energy intensity and cost of grain heat treatment processes. When developing them, it is necessary to take into account the technological requirements for the processed material, the types of electrical technologies used, the operating mode of the intensifying equipment (constant, pulse, and others). (Research purpose) The research purpose is in experimentally evaluating the uniformity of the distribution of the microwave field in the zone of ultrahigh-frequency convective grain processing of a laboratory installation containing six sources of microwave energy. (Materials and methods) The article presents the scheme of the zone of ultrahigh-frequency convective treatment for the study; the factors considered in the experiment and the levels of their variation. (Results and discussion) An experiment was conducted to determine the coefficient of uniformity of the propagation of the microwave field in a layer of grain material. The article presents obtained dependencies. (Conclusions) The results of the study of the microwave field strength in the grain mass can be used in the study of the dielectric properties of the processed grain, as well as in the construction of a control system for the design of ultrahigh-frequency convective processing plants. The values and patterns of changes in the uniformity coefficient of the electromagnetic field distribution in the grain layer indicate a difference between the reference data on the dielectric properties of grain materials and their values for the layer of the processed material. The values of the uniformity coefficient in the considered variants for a dense layer of wheat are in the range of 0.247713-0.426276.