This seminar focuses on the heat transfer dynamics in agricultural soils when exposed to microwave fields, in order to disinfect them and to eliminate dangerous organisms without using pesticides. It is shown that the use of a horn antenna enables to irradiate the superficial layer of soils and so to eliminate harmful bio-agents within a fixed depth. The soil is approximated using a transmission line model. Considering the dielectric constant of the ground as a function of the soil water content, it was possible to evaluate the power absorbed by the irradiated ground and the temperature increase and its profile depending on the irradiation time. Since the latter information is strictly connected to the heat transfer process occurring in the system, we demonstrate the feasibility of the methodology to achieve difficult conditions for microbial and pathogens life, leading to an effective disinfection of the treated farmland.
About the Speaker:
Giuseppe Mazzarella (Senior Member, IEEE) graduated (summa with laude) in electronic engineering and the Ph.D. degree in electronic engineering and computer science from the Università Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy, in 1984 and 1989, respectively. In 1990, he became an Assistant Professor with the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettronica, Università Federico II of Naples. Since 1992, he has been with the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettrica ed Elettronica, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy, first as an Associate Professor and then, since 2000, as Full Professor, teaching courses in electromagnetics, microwave, antennas and remote sensing. He has authored (or coauthored) more than 70 papers in international journals. His research interests include efficient design of large arrays of slots, power synthesis of array factor, with emphasis on inclusion of constraints, microwave holography techniques for the diagnosis of large reflector antennas, and use of evolutionary programming for the solution of inverse problems, in particular problems of synthesis of antennas and periodic structures. Dr. Mazzarella is a Reviewer for many EM journals.
Affiliation: Università degli Studi di Cagliari
Contact Person: Prof. Giacomo OLIVERI <giacomo.oliveri@unitn.it>