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Virginia Tech

Simulation of Microwave Heating of Mullite Rods

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Microwave processing has been studied as an alternate heating technique over conventional heating for industrial applications. Some advantages include quicker and more uniform heating. Also, microwave energy offers the advantage of localized heating and smaller-sized equipment. Many ceramics, however, are difficult to heat using microwave energy by reason of the strong temperature dependence of the dielectric loss. The ability of a ceramic to absorb microwave energy, a measure of its dielectric loss, increases with temperature which makes the material more susceptible to thermal runaway. The purpose of this research is to develop a model that accurately reproduces experimental data and can be used to explore new applicator designs for continuous processing of such ceramics. A two-dimensional numerical model, created for this purpose, assumes that the ceramic is a circular cylinder that moves either longitudinally through a microwave cavity of given dimensions. By adjusting the electromagnetic field so that the absorbed power matches the measured power, the model successfully imitates experimental results and avoids thermal runaway while achieving high temperatures.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Mechanical Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1997

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Goodson, Craig Carl
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Thomas, James R. Jr.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Davis, William A.
  • Scott, Elaine P.

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-111997-13206
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/35768

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Goodson, Craig Carl. Simulation of Microwave Heating of Mullite Rods. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/35768