Finite element analysis of microwave heating of potato––transient temperature profiles Original Research Article

A two-dimensional finite element model was developed to predict temperature in solid food materials during microwave heating. Microwave heating of solids with rectangular and cylindrical geometries was analyzed using ALGOR commercial finite element analysis software. Absorbed microwave power density at any location in the test material was derived as a function of dielectric properties and geometry of the material. A program in C language was developed to find the amount of heat generated at any location in the developed model, using potato as a test material experimentally to validate the model. It is very difficult to compare the accurate temperature; hence rate of temperature rise was used to compare the predicted and experimental values. The temperature predictions by finite element analysis and the experimental measurement were very similar in slab-shaped samples. For slab-shaped potato sample, a cold spot occurred along the central axis. Edge and corner heating effects were also observed. The temperature decreased away from the corners to the edges, with a further decline to the center. In cylindrical samples, the experimental data and finite element predicted values of temperatures were close to each other at all regions except at the central region. A high concentration of absorbed power exists along the central line of the cylinder, because power density increased rapidly near the center.