Electromagnetic heating control via high-frequencyresonance of a triple-layer laminate

Abstract

Beamed energy transport requires the use of heat exchangers to collect the thermal energy produced from the absorption of electromagnetic radiation. To explore the high-frequency effects of wave–geometry interactions on this heat transfer, we consider a central dielectric layer, possessing a temperature-dependent loss factor, surrounded by two fluid channels filled with a lossless dielectric fluid. Considering an asymptotically thin domain, we derive a diffusion–reaction equation, assuming no flow in the fluid. We show that the high-frequency effects generate a new energy balance leading to a previously unknown steady-state solution. A characterization of the steady-state-dependent parameters is performed in an effort to determine a mechanism to control the nonlinear heating. Diffusive effects are shown to produce regions of the power response where steady-state solutions are replaced by traveling-wave solutions. These regions are also location to the greatest heating efficiency. Analytical approximations to the wave speed and location of these regions are found using boundary layer theory.