Numerical methods in loss tangent of honey – properties analysis

Abstract

Background. The quality assessments of food products often involve evaluating their electrical properties, including impedance, permittivity and dielectric loss factor. The measurements of food electrical characteristics provide an interesting alternative to time-consuming and expensive methods based on chemical parameter measurements. This report describes investigations into the effects of frequency on the electrical properties of honey. Specifically, honey electrical properties were tested under an electromagnetic field with frequency ranging from 1 kHz to 1 MHz. Results and conclusion. Both experimental and numerical methods were used in this study. Double verification yielded identical results, which confirmed that the numerical method applied and the computational conditions were selected appropriately. The most important feature and the most significant advantage of the numerical approach is the possibility to predict the behavior of the actual object based on its mathematical model. It is much easier and faster to perform computer simulations than to perform the corresponding measurements under real-life conditions. Numerical simulations are also extremely useful when experiments are too dangerous to perform, i.e. when the electromagnetic field being studied can pose a threat to the health or life of a tested subject. The main drawbacks of computer simulations are the restraints of computing resources and the long duration of calculations.