Microwave heating of thin rubbers based on single-ridged waveguide

Abstract

Microwave heating has been gradually applied to rubber vulcanization. However, it is difficult to process thin rubber using microwaves because of low electromagnetic power loss and rapid heat dissipation. Therefore, in this study, a single-ridged waveguide was designed to efficiently heat thin rubber. First, a single-ridged waveguide was designed and optimized to ensure good wave transmission and a strong electric field, and its energy efficiency was approximately 331.9 times greater than that of multi-mode cavity and 77.9 times greater than that of WR340. Then, a multiphysics model coupling the electromagnetic field and heat transfer in a solid was built to investigate the heating performance. The results of additional experiments showed that the experimental and simulated temperature distributions were consistent. Finally, the effects of the working state, offset of the short-circuited surface, the rubber's thickness and permittivity on the heating performance were investigated, and the vulcanization analyses were discussed.