Composite Materials Processing Using Microwave Heating Technology

This book covers all aspects of composite materials processing and manufacturing using microwave heating technology and their applications in various industrial processes. Depending in the processing and material used, the composites are divided into three major segments: Metal matrix composites (MMCS), ceramics composites (CMCS), and polymer matrix composites (PMCS), respectively. During the manufacturing process of these composite materials, conventional heating technologies are used in which the heat is transferred from the electrical resistance coils to the material via conventional modes of heat transfer. Issues like non-uniform temperature distribution, poor curing efficiency, generation of the in-process scrap, long process cycle, high energy consumption and cost make traditional manufacturing route a difficult choice to select. Recently, microwave-assisted heating has emerged as a promising route for the fabrication of composites as a cost-effective environmentally sustainablemanufacturing process that yields improved mechanical properties which is the main topic of this book. It looks into the mechanism, salient features, and important aspects of microwave heating and their interaction with different composites materials. It also presents other manufacturing processes of various composites using microwave heating during casting, drilling, recycling, sintering, material joining, surface engineering. This book will appeal to students, researchers and scientists working in the area of composite materials processing and manufacturing.

Dr. Manoj Kumar Singh is currently working as Research Scientist at King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok. His Postdoc is from Bioproducts Discovery and Development centre, University of Guelph, Canada. He received a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering with distinction from Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology in 2013, and an M.Tech. from the National Institute of Technology Jalandhar in 2016. He received Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, India. He has considerable experience in polymer composites. He is an Associate Editor of Heliyon, Elsevier (Materials Science), Guest Editor of Mechanics of Advanced Composite Structures Journal and Section Editor of Polymer Processing and Engineering (Journal of Polymer Science and Engineering). He was also Guest Editor for International Journal on Interactive Design and Manufacturing, Springer. His research interests include microwave-assisted processing, plastic waste recycling, pyrolysis, polymer and polymer composites, sustainable manufacturing, additive manufacturing, flame-retardants, mechanical and thermal characterizations, tribology of polymer materials, machining of materials, and the degradability of polymer composites. In particular, he has published papers on microwave processing of polymer composites, machining of polymer composites, tribology of polymer composites, degradation behavior of polymer composites, and recycling of plastics. He has been awarded 1 Indian patent and has authored over 20 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals, in addition contributed to 4 book chapters and 2 editorial corners. He is also the reviewer of several book proposals and international journals.

Dr. Gaurav Arora is a distinguished figure in the realm of mechanical engineering, renowned for his contributions to the study of polymer nanocomposites and related disciplines. Dr. Arora's journey into academia began with a profound passion for understanding the intricacies of mechanical systems and materials. After completing his B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from Chandigarh Engineering College, Dr. Arora furthered his academic pursuits at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, where he earned his M.Tech. degree. It was during this time that his fascination with nanomaterials and their applications in engineering took root, laying the groundwork for his future research endeavors. Continuing his pursuit of knowledge, Dr. Arora obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, where he conducted groundbreaking work on the multi-scale thermal and thermo-mechanical analysis of polymer nanocomposites. His research focused on manufacturing, characterization, and properties evaluation, exploring the potential of these materials in various industrial applications. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Arora has demonstrated exceptional proficiency in utilizing advanced design and material modeling platforms such as SolidWorks, Abaqus, and DIGIMAT. His expertise has been instrumental in unraveling the complexities of polymer nanocomposites, paving the way for innovative solutions in material science and engineering. Dr. Arora's scholarly pursuits extend beyond the confines of the laboratory, as evidenced by his prolific publication record. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in esteemed journals indexed in SCI and SCOPUS, as well as contributing valuable insights through book chapters.

Dr. Sunny Zafar is an Associate Professor in School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (SMME) at Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, where he has been since August 2016. He received a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering with distinction from Punjab Technical University in 2011, and an M.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in 2013. He received Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee in August 2016. His present research interests span Advanced Manufacturing Processes for Polymer Composites and Sustainable Biocomposites, Recycling of Polymer Composites, Surface Engineering and Experimental Tribology. Currently, research work is aimed towards development of microwave assisted compression molding (MACM) process and vacuum assisted resin infusion microwave curing (VARIMC) process for polymer composites. Furthermore, Prof. Zafar is also working on microwave assisted chemical recycling (MACR) for thermoset composites. He is also involved in development of electromagnetic energy based machining processes for fiber reinforced polymers.

Dr. Sanjay Mavinkere Rangappa, is currently working as a Senior Research Scientist/Associate Professor and also 'Advisor within the office of the President for University Promotion and Development towards International goals' at King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand. He received the B. Eng. (Mechanical Engineering) in the year 2010, M.Tech (Computational Analysis in Mechanical Sciences) in the year 2013, Ph. D (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Science) from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi, India in the year 2018 and Post Doctorate from King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand, in the year 2019. He is a Life Member of Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) and an Associate Member of Institute of Engineers (India). He is an Associate Editor of Heliyon Elsevier (Materials Science) and Frontier Materials Journals. Also acting as a Board Member of various international journals in the fields of materials science and composites. He is a reviewer for more than 150 International Journals (for Nature, Elsevier, Springer, Sage, Taylor & Francis, Wiley, American Society for Testing and Materials, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, IOP, Hindawi, NC State University USA, ASM International, Emerald Group, Bentham Science Publishers, Universiti Putra, Malaysia), also a reviewer for book proposals, and international conferences. In addition, he has published more than 300 articles in high-quality international peer- reviewed journals indexed by SCI/Scopus, 10 editorial corners, 80 book chapters, one book, 40 books as an Editor (Published by lead publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Wiley), and also presented research papers at national/international conferences. In 2023, his more than 25 articles got top-cited in various top journals (Journal of Cleaner Production, Carbohydrate Polymers, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Journal of Natural Fibers, Journal of Industrial Textiles). He is a lead editor of Several special issues. Based on google scholar, the number of citations amounts to 20000+ and his present H-index is 73 with i10-Index of 274. In addition, I US Patent, 6 UK Design Patent, 1 Thailand Patent and 5 Indian patents are granted. He has delivered keynote and invited talks at various international conferences and workshops. His current research areas include Natural fiber composites, Polymer Composites, and Advanced Material Technology. He has received a ‘Top Peer Reviewer 2019’ award, Global Peer Review Awards, Powered by Publons, Web of Science Group. The KMUTNB selected him for the ‘Outstanding Young Researcher’ Award 2020 and Outstanding Researcher’ Award 2021. He is recognized by Stanford University’s list of the world’s Top 2% of the Most-Cited Scientists in Single Year Citation Impact for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. He is also recognized for his career-long citation in the year 2021 and 2022. In 2022, He is listed in ‘Top 100 Scientists’ in Thailand, by AD Scientific Index.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Suchart Siengchin is President of King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok. He has received his Dipl.-Ing. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Applied Sciences Giessen/Friedberg, Hessen, Germany in 1999, M.Sc. in Polymer Technology from University of Applied Sciences Aalen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany in 2002, M.Sc. in Material Science at the Erlangen-Nürnberg University, Bayern, Germany in 2004, Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) from Institute for Composite Materials, University of Kaiserslautern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany in 2008 and Postdoctoral Research from Kaiserslautern University and School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, USA. In 2016 he received the habilitation at the Chemnitz University in Sachen, Germany. He worked as a Lecturer for the Production and Material Engineering Department at The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), KMUTNB. He has been full Professor at KMUTNB and became the President of KMUTNB. He won the Outstanding Researcher Award in 2010, 2012 and 2013 at KMUTNB. His research interests in Polymer Processing and Composite Material. He is Editor-in-Chief: KMUTNB International Journal of Applied Science and Technology and the author of more than 500 peer-reviewed Journal Articles, 12 editorial corners, 80 book chapters, one book, and 45 books as an Editor. He has participated with presentations in more than 70 International and National Conferences with respect to Materials Science and Engineering topics. He has been recognized and ranked among the world’s top 2% scientists listed by prestigious Stanford University for 2021, 2022 and 2023. He has received the National Excellence Researcher Award (Engineering and Research Industry) of the Fiscal Year 2021 by the National Research Council of Thailand.