Numerical simulation study on microwave joining of Hastelloy C-276 plates using Inconel-718 interface powder

Abstract

Microwave joining is an emerging technique for the joining of metallic materials because it can join metals faster and offers uniform heating. The current work studies the multi-physics simulation of a microwave-joined Hastelloy C-276 plate with Inconel 718 interface powder inside a multimode microwave applicator at 2.45 GHz and 900 W. The distribution of electric field, temperature, and thermal stress in the joint were analyzed to understand the microwave-joined Hastelloy C-276 plates. The results revealed that the maximum values of electric field strength and temperature at the central plane of symmetry were 7.4 × 104 V/m and 1.43 × 103 ⁰C, respectively. The maximum thermal stress (1.37 × 109N/m2) was estimated using von-Mises criterion. Resistive losses were found to be maximum i.e., 2.72 × 108 W/m3 at the ends of the graphite plate. The study determined the optimum parameters for microwave joining of Hastelloy C-276 plates.