Microwave heating of materials with impurities

Abstract

The microwave heating of materials is important in many industrial processes. For example, it is used for the smelting of metals and the sintering of ceramics. Hot-spots (localised areas of high temperature) can develop in the material being heated or in the microwave oven itself, with disastrous consequences. Impurities in the material or in a component of the microwave oven can have different electromagnetic and thermal properties to the surrounding material. Different rates of heating occur at these sites, which gives rise to differential heating, which can lead to the generation of hot-spots. The generation of hot-spots by this mechanism is considered for a finite one-dimensional slab wi..