Multi-source microwave heating temperature uniformity study based on adaptive dynamic programming

Abstract

Abstract In view of the multi-physical field coupling and time-varying characteristics of the microwave heating medium process, how to dynamically plan the state characteristics of multiple microwave sources and optimize the material temperature uniformity becomes the focus of this article. To this end, first, algebraic graph theory is used to construct the multiple microwave sources as a multi-agent system, and a perfect communication topology is established to ensure the transfer and sharing of information. Second, according to the real-time temperature distribution of the material, an event-triggered adaptive dynamic planning algorithm is used to co-operate with the power input of the multiple microwave sources to ensure that no new hot spots are generated during the optimization of the temperature distribution using the self-organizing properties of the medium. Finally, a numerical calculation model for optimizing a mixture of integer and continuous variables is solved using the finite-element method. The experimental and numerical results show that this article improves the temperature uniformity by 32.4–73.5% and the heating efficiency by 14.3–39.4% compared to the generic heating model, and the feasibility of the method is verified by the different shapes of the heated material.