Dynamic Transmission Performances of Alumina and Mullite Refractory Ceramics in Microwave High-Temperature Heating

This paper proposes an analytical approach to optimize the thickness of refractories for achieving maximum microwave power transmission in microwave heating based on the analysis of power transmission coefficient (PTC). The microwave PTCs of alumina (Al2O3) ceramics over the temperature range of 22–1,379°C at 2,450 MHz, mullite ceramics in the temperature range of 27–1,027°C at 2.45 GHz and 400–1,300°C at 915 MHz are studied. The results show that there are several transmission peaks in the PTC patterns. The transmission peak amplitude depends sensitively on the thickness of the refractory and the peak shifting towards a smaller thickness as the temperature of the refractory increases. We also show that high microwave transmission can only be achieved in a refractory with a small thickness corresponding to a slight transmission peak shift in the entire microwave heating (less than one eighth wavelength in the refractory)