Numerical Analysis of the Microwave Treatment of Palm Trees Infested with the Red Palm Weevil Pest by Using a Circular Array of Vivaldi Antennas

Abstract

The Red Palm Weevil (RPW) is one of the most dangerous pests of palms in the world. Among several techniques that have been applied to combat the RPW pest such as phytosanitation, chemical insecticides, pheromone traps and biological control, the use of microwave energy for heat disinfestation seems to be a promoting solution. Its main advantages are rapid heat transfer, volumetric and selective heating, speed of switching on and off and no pollution to the environment. This article presents the design of microwave antenna system for microwave disinfection of date palms application. The microwave system consists of a 3-D circular array of 16 Vivaldi elements. We present an electromagnetic-thermal model, including palm and adult/Larva RPW models, to test their thermal reactions for microwave heating. The 3-D numerical model shows the capability of the microwave system to heat the outer layer of the palm, and reach the RPW lethal temperature. Also, the research discusses the effect of varying the input power and treatment duration to control the RPW. This work provides a powerful tool to simulate the thermal distribution of the palm and RPW insects for different input cases; which help fight against the RPW.