Simulation of carbon fibre composites in an industrial microwave

The ability of microwave radiation to penetrate and interact directly with materials has led to its extensive use in food and drug industries, and more recently in composites manufacturing. Microwave heating of composites allows rapid heat transfer throughout the material thickness with reduced thermal gradients and processing times as well as energy efficiency. Design of microwave systems to process composite parts with various geometries and sizes demands improved understanding of electromagnetic energy distribution and factors influencing it. Finite-element (FE) models can be efficient design tools in such cases, as physical experimentation can be impractical.

In this study, a fully-coupled FE model of a carbon fibre composite in an industrial microwave environment is developed using COMSOL Multiphysics®. The effects of the heating process parameters including the number of active magnetrons, specimen thickness and the variation in the frequency of radiation on the electromagnetic field distribution are studied. The FE model showed that a substantial difference in the electromagnetic field distribution exists for the frequencies above 1 GHz compared to the lower frequencies in the microwave regime, resulting in non-uniform heating.