| Microwave heating involves the use of a system that generates energy at a specific frequency
and delivers it to an applicator or cavity. This energy is then absorbed by the product being heated,
causing it to convert into heat. In this study, a longitudinally slotted waveguide (LSWG) for high
dielectric heating applications has been designed and examined, where the dielectric constant (εr)
values considered were 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 80. Using CST Microwave Studio Suite, we
investigated the impact of key design parameters, namely the slot length (SL) and the offset distance
(SC), on the LSWG. Varying these parameters resulted in different resonance frequencies for the
waveguide. The SL had a notable influence on the resonance frequency, while the offset distance
SC had a limited effect. Subsequently, we identified the exact resonating SL and SC values for
each dielectric environment at which the proposed LSWG resonated at approximately 2.45 GHz.
Specifically, for dielectric environments with εr values of 10 and 30, the LSWG exhibited resonance
at 2.451 GHz and 2.449 GHz, respectively, with a percentage error of 0.04% for both. For εr =
40, resonance occurred at 2.445 GHz, with a percentage error of 0.2%. Furthermore, in dielectric
surroundings with εr values of 20 and 60, the waveguide resonated at 2.466 GHz and 2.465 GHz,
respectively, with a percentage error of 0.65% and 0.61%. Finally, for εr = 50 and 80, resonance
was achieved at 2.44 GHz and 2.468 GHz, with a percentage error of 0.4% and 0.7%. Overall, the
proposed LSWG demonstrated the ability to resonate at the desired design frequency in various
dielectric environments, with an overall percentage error of less than 1%.
Keywords: Dielectric heating, Longitudinally Slotted Waveguide, Slot length, Offset distance,
Guided Wavelength, Radome, High Dielectric Surroundings, Reflection Coefficient. |