Nonlinear multi-physics model for casting metal in an industrial microwave furnace

The microwave furnace casting process is a time and temperature dependent nonlinear process. In this paper, we present our multi-physics modeling of a microwave oven process that is based on a coupled 3D EM- thermal analysis. Our efforts include the development of the necessary procedures and tools/probes to electrically and thermally characterize all utilized materials over a wide temperature range. Specifically, our novel core thermal analysis is based on the incorporation of black body radiation and the use of temperature dependent emissivity of all utilized materials. This developed 3D-EM/thermal non-linear model, for the first time, accurately predicts the temperature profile up to the melting point of the metal-which could lead to optimizing the oven design for efficient heating operation.