IR temperature measurements in microwave heating

In this paper a technique for the evaluation of the dielectric constant of a sample placed inside a microwave oven and confined in a cylindrical box is proposed. The box acts as a waveguide so that a simple model for the propagating wave can be assumed. Since traditional techniques for temperature measurements cannot be applied in microwave heating, the IR thermography shows to be an useful tool for measuring the sample surface temperature. The measure of the surface temperature evolution in the sample along with application of a simple analytical model allows to obtain the dielectric constant of the sample as a function of chemical composition, temperature and frequency. Preliminary results are presented and discussed with reference to pure water. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.