Development of metallic materials using hybrid microwave assisted rapid sintering

Abstract

Powder metallurgy is a highly established method for fabricating metals and metal matrix composites. An innovative hybrid sintering technique involving the use of microwaves and radiant heating is currently proposed. The use of microwaves to heat metallic materials is not common because it is a well known fact that bulk metals reflect microwaves and causes arching when placed inside a microwave oven. Microwave heating of materials is fundamentally different from conventional resistance heating and offer many benefits over conventional heating. In this study, aluminum, magnesium and a lead-free solder were selected as candidate materials and sintered using conventional sintering as well as a novel hybrid microwave assisted sintering. The sintered materials were hot extruded and characterized primarily in terms of physical and mechanical properties. An overall superior combination of hardness and tensile properties were realized in the case of microwave sintered samples when compared to the conventionally sintered samples. Copyright © 2005 by ASME.