Energy conversion during microwave sintering of a multiphase ceramic surrounded by a susceptor

A quasi-analytic model has been developed to examine energy conversion during the microwave sintering of a ceramic that is surrounded by a susceptor, Low-loss ceramics, such as ZrO2, couple poorly with microwave radiation at low temperatures; however, because the dielectric loss usually increases rapidly as temperature increases, coupling improves dramatically at high temperatures. To improve heat transfer at low temperatures, susceptors are used. Three processes of energy flow are considered: microwave absorption due to dielectric losses, blackbody radiation, and heat convection. As expected, the susceptor (SiC) heats rapidly, relative to the ceramic (ZrO2) at low temperatures; however, the ceramic attains higher temperatures after a prolonged period of microwave exposure. Below a critical temperature (800 degrees C), the primary heat-transfer mechanism to the ZrO2 is blackbody radiation from the susceptor, Above this temperature, microwave radiation is the main source that contributes to the temperature increase of the ceramic. The results of the simulation are in reasonable agreement with recent experimental data.