Description
During the last two decades comparisons of microwave and conventional sintering for different materials have become a popular interest for researchers. In many cases, materials sintered in microwaves had superior properties than materials obtained in conventional ovens. On the other hand, sinter-forging is one of the methods that allow controlling grain size during the final stage of sintering. Until now, the microwave heating-sinter-forging combination has not been explored. A novel, unique microwave sinter-forging device has been developed and both microwave and conventional sinter-forging methods were compared to each other in this research. Specimens were prepared from aluminum, nickel and nano-sized TiO_ powder. External uniaxial loads in the range of 0-2.0 MPa were applied to 12 mm diameter specimens during microwave and conventional sintering. A modified Panasonic 1300 Watt microwave oven and modified conventional NEY 2-525 oven were used for the experiments. A MIKRON Infrared 140 pyrometer was used for temperature measurements. Initial and final densities and also grain size were measured to compare the outcomes of both sinter-forging techniques.
