Open AccessMicrowave processing of materials. Final report
Author(s) -
April D McMillan,
R.J. Lauf,
R.S. Garard
Publication year - 1997
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/543671
Subject(s) - microwave , commercialization , microwave power , traveling wave tube , superposition principle , engineering , telecommunications , mechanical engineering , electrical engineering , computer science , physics , amplifier , bandwidth (computing) , quantum mechanics , political science , law
A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (LMES) and Lambda Technologies, Inc. (Lambda) of Raleigh, N.C., was initiated in May 1995. [Lockheed Martin Energy Research, Corp. (LMER) has replaced LMES]. The completion data for the Agreement was December 31, 1996. The purpose of this work is to explore the feasibility of several advanced microwave processing concepts to develop new energy-efficient materials and processes. The project includes two tasks: (1) commercialization of the variable-frequency microwave furnace (VFMF); and (2) microwave curing of polymer composites. The VFMF, whose initial conception and design was funded by the Advanced Industrial Concepts (AIC) Materials Program, will allow us, for the first time, to conduct microwave processing studies over a wide frequency range. This novel design uses a high-power traveling wave tube (TWT) originally developed for electronic warfare. By using this microwave source, one can not only select individual microwave frequencies for particular experiments, but also achieve uniform power densities over a large area by the superposition of many different frequencies