Materials Characterization and Diagnosis Using Variable Frequency Microwaves

Abstract

AbstractProduct quality control is a crucial part of manufacturing and usually involves materials characterization and diagnosis. Though various microwave assisted nondestructive evaluation (MA-NDE) systems have been fabricated for materials inspection, none of the systems can be applied to materials within a mold or reactor. A broadband variable frequency microwave based, resonant mode MA-NDE was studied as an alternative for characterization of materials within a cavity. The main advantage of the resonant mode MA-NDE are non-intrusive and volumetric diagnosis of the material inside a mold. The principles and possible applications of the resonant mode MA-NDE are discussed. Resonant mode MA-NDE was fully demonstrated by using Vani-Wave to trace material status during microwave curing of Diglycidyl Ether of Bisphenol A (DGEBA)/Diaminodiphenylsulphone (DDS) epoxy samples.