Analysis of microwave heating of copper powder compacts

The influence of the native oxide films, which is essential for the understanding of the microwave heating of metal powder, is analyzed numerically based on the experimental data on temperature, dilatation and resistance of compacted copper powder samples. The indicative thickness of the oxide films, determined from the resistivity data using an effective medium approximation, is shown to decrease from >= 1 mu m to below 1 nm. The effective complex dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability of the copper powder with oxide films on the particles are calculated within the recently developed models. The dielectric permittivity exhibits a percolation behavior in the temperature range of the oxide decomposition, viz. 210-250 degrees C when microwave heating is carried out in nitrogen and 330-375 degrees C - in argon. The efficiency of absorption of the incident 30 GHz microwave radiation in a slab of powder is assessed separately for the electric and magnetic-type losses, the contribution of the latter being predominant until the percolation transition. The energy flux density of the incident microwave radiation required to sustain the prescribed heating rate is shown to increase during the microwave heating process from similar to 20 W/cm(2) to >1 kW/cm(2) due to increasing reflection. The additional microwave energy input required for the completion of the endothermic oxide decomposition reaction is shown to be significant at the initial stage of the process (below 200 degrees C).