Development and Characterization of Metal Ceramic Composite Castings through Microwave Hybrid Heating

Abstract

The manufacturing sector of any country plays an important role in its economic development, but it consumes more than 30% of the energy resources. Within the manufacturing domain, the melting and casting of steel and iron consumes majority of the primary energy resources and responsible for 38% of CO2 emissions worldwide. To handle such situations, technologists, researchers and academicians are continuously working towards efficient processing of materials such that production cost can be reduced and energy can be saved. The conventional manufacturing practices are getting obsolete due to higher energy consumptions; higher pollution levels, low productivity and formation of higher defects in developed component. The alternative or new processing methods are required to reduce production or manufacturing costs, processing times, and to enhance product quality. Further, the developed technology should be widely acceptable for all types of materials such as metal matrix composites, ceramics, alloys, and fiber reinforced plastics. In current scenario, the focus is on the development of energy efficient and green processing methods, which are sustainable. Thus, it is of prime importance for the researchers to investigate alternative processing methods/techniques, which have the potential to overcome/lower the deficiencies of conventional one. The developed techniques are expected to be highly energy efficient, reduces CO2 or other unwanted toxic gas emission, and produces better quality products at an effective processing cost. In mid of year 90 s, microwave heating effects were discovered and microwaves were successfully utilized in the cooking sector with the discovery of the microwave oven. During 1980-1990 the utilization of microwave ovens spread throughout the world and become the essential part of home appliances due to the better efficiency and lower processing time characteristics.