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Finite-Difference Time-Domain Simulation of Microwave Sintering in A Variable-Frequency Multimode Cavity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

Mikel J White ,
Steven F. Dillon ,
Magdy F. Iskander  and
Hal D. Kimrey
Mikel J White
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Steven F. Dillon
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Magdy F. Iskander
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Hal D. Kimrey
Affiliation:
Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
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Abstract

There have been recent indications that variable-frequency microwave sintering of ceramics provides several advantages over single-frequency sintering, including more uniform heating, particularly for larger samples. The Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) code at the University of Utah was modified and used to simulate microwave sintering using variable frequencies and was coupled with a heat-transfer code to provide a dynamic simulation of this new microwave sintering process. This paper summarizes results from the FDTD simulations of sintering in a variable-frequency cavity. FDTD simulations were run in 100-MHz steps to account for the frequency variation in the electromagnetic fields in the multimode cavity. It is shown that a variable-frequency system does improve the heating uniformity when the proper frequency range is chosen. Specifically, for a single ceramic sample (4 × 4 × 6 cm3), and for a variable-frequency range from f = 2.5 GHz to f = 3.2 GHz, the temperature distribution pattern was much more uniform than the heating pattern achieved when using a single-frequency sintering system at f = 2.45 GHz.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 430: Symposium O – Microwave Processing of Materials V , 1996 , 487
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

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References

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