Computer Simulation of Temperature Distribution of Frozen Material Heated in a Microwave Oven

Abstract

In this study, the temperature distribution of a material (frozen tuna) that was heated in a commercial microwave oven is calculated by a coupled method using the finite-difference time-domain method, the semi-implicit method for pressure linked equations, the Monte Carlo method, and the radiative energy absorption distribution method. This method takes into consideration the melting heat during the phase change and the change in real and imaginary parts of the complex relative permittivity and heat conductivity during defrosting. Meanwhile, the temperature distribution of a sample of the frozen tuna is measured using an identical microwave oven and a thermograph. Then, the computed and monitored temperature distributions are compared. The calculated temperature distribution is found to agree well with the measured one, and the validity of the coupled method is confirmed. Additionally, the temperature distribution of a frozen heated material is verified both experimentally and theoretically.