The response of food to microwave radiation depends very sensitively on a number of parameters, which change during the cooking process, especially the saline content and the moisture content of the food. This Faraday Partnership project will model the cooking process in through a series of models of increasing complexity in a variety of controlled geometries. The effects of moisture, salinity, rotation speed of the food and the food/cavity geometry will each be investigated. The models developed will help to test, and guide the more sophisticated calculations that are part of a related postdoctoral research project, which will in turn provide more complete data for the modelling process.

Successful completion of the modelling and computational work will provide a tool which will allow predictions to be made of food temperature

Project staff and support

Andrew Hill (Postgraduate Faraday Associate, University of Bath)
Chris Budd (Academic supervisor, University of Bath)
Philip Richardson (Industrial supervisor, CCFRA)
Heather Tewkesbury (Technology translator, Smith Institute)

This project is being pursued at the University of Bath in conjunction with CCFRA. It is supported by an EPSRC industrial CASE studentship, through the Faraday Partnership for Industrial Mathematics. Start date: September 2002; duration: 3 years.