The influence of electromagnetic waves on the biological tissues, microwave imaging, and heating

The dissertation solves the coupled models of electromagnetic (EM) wave and heat transfer by using finite element method (FEM) in the field of communication, medical, and heating. Microwave radiation lies in the non-ionizing radiation part of the EM wave spectrum. In communication, there have been concern that the exposure of mobile phone radiation could cause an adverse effect on human health. Moreover, the interaction of microwave radiation with metal objects could cause an interference leading to a higher exposure to human. Hence, the effect of microwave radiation in the human head in proximity of metal objects are studied. Results showed a significant increase in the power absorption in the head tissues due to the presence of the metal objects. Coming to the medical usage of the microwave radiation, radar-based microwave imaging of breast cancer detection is studied. A microstrip patch antenna is designed and used in the microwave imaging system. The antenna scans the breast tissues, and with the help of an imaging algorithm, a 2D image of the breast tissue is generated showing the presence of the tumor in it. Power absorption in the breast tissue for different age group of women and types of tumor has also been studied. The usage of microwave radiation is further investigated in the field of microwave heating of coal. A coal sample is heated in a microwave oven while the position of the waveguide port is varied. It has been found that the microwave heating of coal highly depends on the position of the waveguide port.