Mathematical modelling of liquid heating-cooling in the multimode microwave system

Abstract

In this study, an experimental system irradiated by Microwave (MW) energy was proposed, the main aim being to conduct experimental studies at isothermal conditions and under constant and continuous MW energy supply. For this purpose, a coil-cooled reactor was designed using a MW transparent coolant such as o-xylene circulated between a thermostat bath and the reactor. A dynamic thermal model of the system was derived to be used for selecting system operating parameters to ensure required MW power at Isothermal conditions. To estimate unknown thermal parameters of the system, heating/cooling experiments were conducted using a viscous liquid (glycerine) as the reactor charge. Furthermore, the mathematical model was tested with experimental data. The correction factors for the amount of MW power supplied to the system calculated from the model and standard calibration data were found to be consistent. The fit between the experimental and the model simulated data was fairly good with a value of 0.94 validation coefficient.