Processing of Composite Materials Using the Latest In Fixed Frequency Microwave Technology

Microwave heating has several advantages over conventional heating methods due to the ability to (selectively) heat the material through the interaction of electromagnetic radiation. However, microwave heating of polymers and polymer composites in the past was predominantly restricted to small coupon sized samples, limiting its use in industry. Through the use of new microwave technology, it has been possible to produce large samples and yet still showing a very high level of homogeneous microwave distribution. This has been achieved by manufacturing ‘large’ samples, sectioning them to the right dimensions for coupon testing and comparing the results. Results show that the variation in performance from one coupon to another is similar to that seen in conventional heating techniques, irrelevant of its location within the microwave chamber.