SBIR Phase I: Ultra High Temperature Microwave Processing of Ceramics

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发微波热密封包，用于利用微波能量处理超高温（UHT）纳米材料。第一阶段的工作还将评估用这种方法加工的关键材料的强度和耐磨性。由于微波系统缺乏合适的热封装，1800°C以上的微波工作受到严重限制。微波加工为纳米粉末和烧结产品提供了低成本、高能效和快速的制造方法。微波加热已被证明可以产生细晶粒的产品，而没有火花等离子烧结的形状和尺寸限制。这项研究将通过开发一套可靠的、可重复使用的、UHT微波处理的热封装，对UHT材料的这些好处进行科学探索。利用高温微波频率介电数据、建模和实验室实验，将设计和测试封装。这些热封装将为评估超高温下的微波处理提供关键数据，作为设计和建造商用UHT微波系统的先决条件。与佛罗里达国际大学合作，我们将烧结商用碳化硅粉末，以及原位碳纳米管和碳化硅的混合物。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将是开发超高温微波处理系统。这项技术将在多个行业产生商业影响，包括航空航天、装甲、热障涂层和散热器。在材料科学中，这是一个很大程度上尚未开发的领域，有潜力利用纳米材料的优势进行高性能结构应用。微波加热通过降低制造成本，有可能为UHT产品开辟新的市场。微波烧结非常节能，可将UHT材料制造的能源和碳足迹减少50%以上。微波加工的可扩展性、几何形状的自由度和成本的降低，使其与火花等离子烧结、热压和热等静压等竞争技术相区别。许多已发表的超高温微波研究难以验证或重现，也没有商业上可用的解决方案。这项建议将产生和传播关于超高温微波加工的新数据，这将进一步教育工业专业人员以及本科生和研究生在微波材料加工的创新领域。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop microwave thermal containment packages for processing of ultrahigh temperature (UHT) nanomaterials using microwave energy. The Phase I work will also assess the strength and wear resistance of key materials processed with this method. Microwave work above 1800 °C is severely limited by lack of availability of suitable thermal packaging for microwave systems. Microwave processing offers low-cost, energy-efficient, and rapid fabrication for nano-powders and sintered products. Microwave heating has been demonstrated to yield fine grained products without the shape and size limitations of spark plasma sintering. This research will enable scientific exploration of these benefits for UHT materials by developing a set of thermal packages for reliable, reusable, UHT microwave processing. Using high temperature microwave frequency dielectric data, modeling, and laboratory experiments, packages will be designed and tested. These thermal packages will provide critical data to evaluate microwave processing at ultrahigh temperatures, as a prerequisite for the design and construction of commercial UHT microwave systems. In conjunction with Florida International University, we will sinter commercial silicon carbide powders, as well as mixtures of in-situ carbon nanotubes and silicon carbide.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be the development of ultrahigh temperature microwave processing systems. This technology will have a commercial impact in several industries, including aerospace, armor, thermal barrier coatings, and heat sinks. This is a largely unexplored area in materials science with the potential to harness the advantages of nanomaterials for high-performance structural applications. Microwave heating has the potential to open new markets for UHT products by lowering the cost of manufacturing. Microwave sintering is extremely energy efficient, reducing by over 50% the energy and carbon footprint of UHT materials manufacturing. The combination of scalability, freedom of geometry, and cost reduction differentiates microwave processing from competing technologies such as spark plasma sintering, hot pressing, and hot isostatic pressing. Much of the published UHT microwave research is difficult to validate or reproduce, and no commercially available solutions exist. This proposal will result in the generation and dissemination of new data on UHT microwave processing, which will further educate industrial professionals - as well as undergraduate and graduate students - in the innovative area of microwave materials processing.