Thermal Stability of Ceramic Materials in Microwave Heating

Thermal stability was examined theoretically for various commercial grades of alumina heated by microwave energy. The critical temperature for thermal runaway was evaluated as a function of Biot number and ambient temperature, employing various functional forms of the dependence of dielectric loss with temperature. Field‐temperature relationships were derived for the limit of small temperature gradients in the specimen. Finite difference methods were used under conditions where significant temperature gradients were sustained in the specimen. The critical temperature approached limiting asymptotes for the extremes in Biot number, with smooth variation in the intermediate regime. Stability diagrams were constructed which denote regions of stability and their dependence on important system parameters. The effects of ambient temperature on critical temperature were determined analytically and compared with experimental observations on heating alumina fiber bundles by a hybrid configuration utilizing an external suseptor. The results have implications for temperature control near the critical temperature and the design of hybrid heating systems.