Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Oct 30;24(21):6995.
doi: 10.3390/s24216995.

A Safe Fiber-Optic-Sensor-Assisted Industrial Microwave-Heating System

Kivilcim Yüksel  1 , Oguz Deniz Merdin  2 , Damien Kinet  3   4 , Murat Merdin  2 , Corentin Guyot  3 , Christophe Caucheteur  4
Affiliations

A Safe Fiber-Optic-Sensor-Assisted Industrial Microwave-Heating System

Kivilcim Yüksel et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Industrial microwave-heating systems are pivotal in various sectors, including food processing and materials manufacturing, where precise temperature control and safety are critical. Conventional systems often struggle with uneven heat distribution and high fire risks due to the intrinsic properties of microwave heating. In this work, a fiber-optic-sensor-assisted monitoring system is presented to tackle the pressing challenges associated with uneven heating and fire hazards in industrial microwave systems. The core innovation lies in the development of a sophisticated fiber-optic 2D temperature distribution sensor and a dedicated fire detector, both designed to significantly mitigate risks and optimize the heating process. Experimental results set the stage for future innovations that could transform the landscape of industrial heating technologies toward better process quality.

Keywords: drying; fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs); fiber-optic sensors; fire detector; heating; microwave oven.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors Oguz Deniz Merdin, Murat Merdin were employed by the company MET Advanced Technologies. Authors Damien Kinet, Corentin Guyot were employed by the company B-Sens (Belgium). The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Block diagram of the sensor-assisted microwave-heating system.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of sensor calibration setup.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Variation in temperature measured using reference probes and FBG sensors (both with and without package) during a temperature cycle (from room temperature to 80 °C) for FBG#8 (a) and FBG#10 (b). Variation in the Bragg peak position as a function of the temperature for FOSAS-4 (having PTFE package), FBG#8, FBG#10 (c), and FOSAS-4 all 16 FBGs (d).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Photo showing the setup for the functional tests of the IR detector. (left): direct exposure, (right): angled exposure. The distance between the sensor and the IR source is varied between 15 cm and 1 m.
Figure 5
Figure 5
IR detector response: (left): Bragg wavelength shift (BWS), (right): Bragg wavelength difference (BWD). Time of exposure is varied between 1 s and 10 s.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Manufactured casing for fire sensor.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Mechanical design and the manufactured cavity.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Measurement setup with the instrumented microwave oven on the left and the BSI-116 data acquisition system on the right.
Figure 9
Figure 9
(a) Position of veins; (b) marble heating (a temperature difference up to 57 °C was observed between the hot spots of marble’s natural veins and the marble’s white parts). The cavity was 1500 mm × 1500 mm.
Figure 10
Figure 10
(New cavity/old cavity) 2D heating-difference results (a) at 30 s and (b) at 360 s. The cavity is 1500 mm × 1500 mm.
Figure 11
Figure 11
(New cavity—old cavity) 3D heating-difference results (a) at 30 s and (b) at 360 s.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Fire sensor (S) and test fire location (F). (The oven cavity is divided into 5 × 5 grids of equal surface areas). (a) Fire at maximum distance; (b) aligned fire test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Borda-Yepes V.H., Chejne F., Daza-Olivella L.V., Alzate-Arbelaez A.F., Rojano B.A., Raghavan V.G. Effect of microwave and infrared drying over polyphenol content in Vaccinium meridionale (Swartz) dry leaves. J. Food Process Eng. 2019;42:e12939. doi: 10.1111/jfpe.12939. - DOI
    1. Metaxas A.C., Meredith R.J. Foundation of Microwave Engineering. 2nd ed. IEEE Press; New York, NY, USA: 2017.
    1. Raghavan V. Advantages and applications of microwave heating in various industrial processes. J. Ind. Process. 2018;35:123–137.
    1. Wu J., Ma Y., Yin S., Yin C., Yin K., Yang Y., Zhu H. Compact Microwave Continuous-Flow Heater. Processes. 2024;12:1895. doi: 10.3390/pr12091895. - DOI
    1. Bian J., Kang M., Xi Y., Wang Y., Zi W. A Review of the Measurement and Control Technologies for the Critical Parameters of Microwave Drying Processes: Temperature and Humidity. Food Bioprocess Technol. 2024 doi: 10.1007/s11947-024-03614-7. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources