Microwave processing of ceramics has been studied as an alternative approach for sintering of ceramics because of potential advantages such as rapid heating, lower sintering temperatures, penetrating radiation, more uniform microstructures, and selective heating . However, microwave sintering of ceramics can also be troublesome because of the low thermal conductivity and high temperature dependence of the dielectric loss factor of many ceramics of interest. Some of the problems encountered include thermal runaway , cracking and the formation of hot spots. Much research has been devoted to learning how to avoid these problems or discover ways to overcome them.
In this section an attempt is made to discuss both experimental and theoretical works that have been performed pertaining to microwave heating of rods and fibers traveling through a microwave applicator. This review will discuss the successes and failures and demonstrate the necessity of continued reearch on this topic that will be the foundation of this research.
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