Development and characterisation of a Dynamic Mass Instrument (DMI) for use in microwave heating experiments

This study describes the development of an instrument known as the Dynamic Mass Instrument (DMI) for use in microwave heating experiments that will allow greater insight in to the efficacy of the technique. A commercially available load cell is used as the main mechanism of mass measurement with a load arm used to provide microwave isolation of the load cell. The DMI is capable of measuring changes in mass with a mass range of 100 g to 200 g with an accuracy of ± 0.1 g in an environment of 250 W, 2.45 GHz microwaves under a working pressure of 3 mbar. A series of calibrations and experiments have been performed to quantify and clarify the behaviour of the instrument in different environments and scenarios and to ensure the DMI meets preset requirements. The DMI will, in future work, be used in In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) experiments to examine in greater detail the efficacy of using microwave heating as a water extraction technique.