Abstract

CIRO VELASQUEZ, HÉCTOR JOSÉ; MELENDEZ RHENALS, JAIR EDUARDO  and  MELENDEZ RHENALS, JOHN EDUARDO. NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF A THERMAL PROCESS BY MICROWAVES WITH EMPHASIS IN FOODS. Dyna rev.fac.nac.minas [online]. 2006, vol.73, n.150, pp.155-166. ISSN 0012-7353.

In this research work a thermal sterilization process by microwaves with emphasis in food was simulated using the technique of finite differences applied to volumes of control in spherical coordinates with radial and time dependency, where the electromagnetic effect given by the microwaves was modeled through the equations of Lambert and whose algorithm of solution was programmed in MatLab. The results of the simulation indicated that the algorithm developed is independent of the selected nodal network, allowing to quantify the curves of heat penetration based on the frequency and power of the electromagnetic field, and for which frequencies of 915 MHz provides a more uniform heating in the food due to greater depths of penetration of wave with respect to the use of frequencies of 2450 MHz.

Keywords : Microwave; Sterilization; Thermal destruction; Heat penetration curves; Temperature; Numeric simulation.

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