Experimental verification of a finite element solution to heating problems in a multi-mode cavity

Computational analysis is playing an increasingly important part in the design process for microwave applicators and packaging of food products. It is important to assess these methods with respect to real situations and experimental results rather than simply testing the method on a problem for which the analytical solution is known. These test problems rarely reflect the complexities of a real heating problem, such as where a dielectric material load is placed in a multimode microwave applicator. To reflect realistic heating the authors have used a resonant cavity of a similar size to a typical domestic oven and a food material, mashed potato. They have also carried out tests on a block of low loss plastic