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The Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) code available at the University of Utah has been used to simulate sintering of ceramics in single and multimode cavities, and many useful results have been reported in literature [1–4]. More detailed and accurate results, specifically around and including the ceramic sample, are often desired to help evaluate the adequacy of the heating procedure. In electrically large multimode cavities, however, computer memory requirements limit the number of the mathematical cells, and the desired resolution is impractical to achieve due to limited computer resources. Therefore, an FDTD algorithm which incorporates multiple-grid regions with variable-grid sizes is required to adequately perform the desired simulations. In this paper we describe the development of a three-dimensional multi-grid FDTD code to help focus a large number of cells around the desired region. Test geometries were solved using a uniform-grid and the developed multi-grid code to help validate the results from the developed code. Results from these comparisons, as well as the results of comparisons between the developed FDTD code and other available variable-grid codes are presented. In addition, results from the simulation of realistic microwave sintering experiments showed improved resolution in critical sites inside the three-dimensional sintering cavity. With the validation of the FDTD code, simulations were performed for electrically large, multimode, microwave sintering cavities to fully demonstrate the advantages of the developed multi-grid FDTD code.

To help develop large-scale microwave-sintering processes and to explore the feasibility of the commercial utilization of this technology, we used the recently developed multi-grid 3D Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) code and the 3D Finite-Difference Heat-Transfer (FDHT) code to determine the electromagnetic (EM) fields, the microwave power deposition, and temperature-distribution patterns in layers of samples processed in large-scale multimode microwave cavities.This paper presents results obtained from the simulation of realistic sintering experiments carried out in both 500 and 4000 liter furnaces operating at 2.45 GHz. The ceramic ware being sintered is placed inside a cubical crucible box made of rectangular plates of various ceramic materials with various electrical and thermal properties. The crucible box can accommodate up to 5 layers of ceramic samples with 16 to 20 cup-like samples per layer. Simulation results provided guidelines regarding selection of crucible-box materials, cruciblebox geometry, number of layers, shelf material between layers, and the fraction volume of the load vs. that of the furnace.Results from the FDTD and FDHT simulations will be presented and various tradeoffs involved in designing an effective microwave-processing system will be compared graphically.