Nuhiji, B., Bower, M.P., Swait, T. et al. (3 more authors) (2020) Simulation of carbon fibre composites in an industrial microwave. In: Materials Today: Proceedings. 12th International Conference on Composite Science and Technology (ICCST/12), 08-10 May 2019, Sorrento, Italy. Elsevier
Abstract
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Proceedings Paper |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Electromagnetic energy; Electromagnetic modelling; Finite element modelling; Microwave curing; Carbon fibre reinforced composites |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Advanced Manufacturing Institute (Sheffield) > AMRC Composites Centre (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Engineering and Physical Science Research Council EP/L017121/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 25 Feb 2020 15:26 |
Last Modified: | 25 Feb 2020 15:26 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.01.284 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:156777 |
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