Simulation and validation of radio frequency heating with conveyor movement

Abstract

Computer simulation is widely used as a valuable tool to systematically study radio frequency (RF) heating with time-saving and effective cost. A computer simulation model using finite element-based commercial software, COMSOL, was developed to simulate temperature distributions in wheat samples packed in a rectangular plastic container and treated in a 6 kW, 27.12 MHz RF system under stationary and moving conditions. Both simulated and experimental results showed similar heating patterns in RF-treated wheat samples, in which corners and edges were more heated and the temperatures were higher in the lower sections of the container. The simulation results demonstrated that the RF heating uniformity could be improved by conveyor movement and selecting the top electrode area similar to the sample size. The validated model can be further applied to optimize parameters of conveyor movement and top electrode configuration to improve RF heating uniformity.