Development of a microwave clothes dryer

A laboratory test model of a microwave clothes dryer was constructed and tested over a wide range of test variables, including number of magnetrons and use of auxiliary heat. The tests identified three distinct operating modes: (1) cool drying, which uses only microwave energy and drying occurs at less than 105/spl deg/F; (2) fast drying, where microwave drying is superimposed on conventional drying; and (3) efficient drying, where the use of microwave energy with waste heat recovery from the power supply results in significant efficiency improvements compared to conventional dryers.