Engineers' Handbook of Industrial Microwave Heating (Energy Engineering)

Engineers' Handbook of Industrial Microwave Heating (Energy Engineering)

Heating materials using microwave energy offers many advantages in industrial processes, including improved quality, efficiency and control. There is a growing interest in microwave heating throughout industry and there are now many research establishments, both academic and industrial, working in this field. Microwave technology is a well developed science in the areas of radar and communications, supported by a large bibliography, but this is not the case for its applications to industry. The aim of this book is first to present the fundamentals of microwave technology that are relevant to industrial practice in a manner accessible to engineers, scientists and technicians who may have little or no prior knowledge of the subject. Second, it presents a perspective on the range and scope of the techniques and hardware used, giving detailed descriptions, making critical comparisons and commenting frequently on practical issues of design. Roger Meredith is a Chartered Engineer and a graduate of the University of Bristol in Electrical Engineering. He received his practical training at the British-Thomson Houston Co., Rugby, joining the radar engineering department in 1953. Over the next 15 years he was concerned with all aspects of microwave engineering in radar systems, including high power transmitters. In 1968 he formed Magnetronics Ltd, specialising in industrial microwave energy through the design and manufacture of process equipment. In the late 1980s the company was acquired by APV Ltd. He took early retirement in 1992 and is now consultant to selected clients. He has presented several papers at international conferences and is co-author of Industrial Microwave Heating (IEE, 1983). He served with the British National Committee for Electroheat for many years and is inventor of several patents on microwave topics.