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Virginia Tech

Field Simulation for the Microwave Heating of Thin Ceramic Fibers

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Microwave processing of ceramics has seen a growth in research and development efforts throughout the past decade. One area of interest is the exploration of improved heating control through experiments and numerical modeling. Controlled heating may be used to counteract non-uniform heating and avoid destructive phenomena such as cracking and thermal runaway. Thermal runaway is a potential problem in materials with temperature dependent dielectric properties. As the material absorbs electromagnetic energy, the temperature increases as does its ability to absorb more energy. Controlled processing of the material may be achieved by manipulating the applied field. The purpose of this research is to model the interaction of the EM-field with a thin ceramic fiber to investigate possible mechanisms that may affect the heating process. The fiber undergoes microwave heating in a single-mode resonant applicator. Maxwell's equations for the fields within the cavity are solved using mode-matching techniques taking into account the field interaction of the fiber and an arbitrarily shaped coupling aperture. Effects of varying the aperture shape on the field distribution are explored. The coupled nature of the electromagnetic solution with the material's temperature-dependent properties, including an analysis of non-uniform heating, is also discussed.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Electrical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Electrical Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1998

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Terril, Nathaniel D.
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Davis, William A.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Safaai-Jazi, Ahmad
  • Thomas, James R. Jr.

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-62798-165231
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/36863

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

Terril, Nathaniel D.. Field Simulation for the Microwave Heating of Thin Ceramic Fibers. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36863