Microwave Drying of Textile Materials and Optimization of a Resonant Applicator

Abstract

The principal aim of this work was to design and optimize the applicator for microwave drying. Our applicator is derived from the Fabry-Perrot resonator, which is an open type resonator.The whole system works at frequency 2.45 GHz and the magnetron that we used delivers power 800 W. This machine is intended for use in drying in factory production of fabrics. After identifying of the basic arrangement of the microwave drying machine, the next step in the design was the use of the electromagnetic field simulator. We determined the position of the magnetron and found the distribution of the electric field strength in drying textiles in this way. In parallel, we analyzed the drying system with analytical calculations. We created a diagram of the EM waves inside this structure and reached the resulting expression for use in calculating the strenght of the electric field in the plane of the drying textile. This quantity depends on the electrical characteristics of wet textiles, e.g. the permittivity and the loss factor. Measurements of these dielectric properties for the coburg is complicated, and this method makes it possible to solve our problem with dielectric parameters. We have SAR distribution results (by simulation and also by measurement), results of measurements of the moisture content in the dried textile with respect to time. These results are important for subsequent optimization of the efficiency of the whole machine.