Theoretical analysis on pulsed microwave heating of pork meat supported on ceramic plate

Theoretical analysis has been carried out to study the role of ceramic plates (alumina and SiC) and pulsed microwave heating of pork meat (Pork Luncheon Roll (PLR) and White Pudding (WP)) samples. Spatial hot spots occur either at the center of the sample or at the outer face or at the face attached with alumina plate and application of pulsing minimizes formation of hot spots within meat samples. Pulsing of microwave is characterized by set point for temperature difference (ΔTS) and on–off constraints for temperature (T′). It is found that alumina plate with higher ΔTS and lower T′ may be recommended for thick meat samples (both WP and PLR) whereas for thin meat samples, lower ΔTS with alumina plate/without plate may be preferred. It is also observed that SiC plate may be selectively used with ΔTS = 20 K for both the pork meats. The distributed microwave incidence is found to be effective due to lesser degree of thermal runaway in absence of pulsing for both meat samples.