ABSTRACT
Accurate temperature measurement remains a challenge for microwave heating of powder materials. We propose a temperature calibration method based on exothermic reactions and the resultant thermal runaway that occurs during microwave heating. The approach was demonstrated on microwave heating of four titanium alloys. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to determine the threshold reaction temperature for each selected titanium alloy. This served as a standard for the microwave heating of these titanium alloys. Infrared pyrometric temperature measurements were then calibrated by comparing the starting temperature of each thermal runaway event with the threshold reaction temperature.
ABSTRACT
A manufacturing technique for the production of aluminum components is described. A resin-bonded part is formed by a rapid prototyping technique and then debound and infiltrated by a second aluminum alloy under a nitrogen atmosphere. During thermal processing, the aluminum reacts with the nitrogen and is partially transformed into a rigid aluminum nitride skeleton, which provides the structural rigidity during infiltration. The simplicity and rapidity of this process in comparison to conventional production routes, combined with the ability to fabricate complicated parts of almost any geometry and with high dimensional precision, provide an additional means to manufacture aluminum components.
