The microwave composite forming (MCF) process can reduce manufacturing cost because the process time is reduced by the dielectric heating of the mold and the composite material. In a previous study, the MCF process using a commercial microwave oven with a polytetrafluoroethylene mold was applied. Disadvantages of the previous MCF process have been investigated. These included the difference in tensile properties according to the cutting location, absence of a method to measure temperature during the MCF process, and the fact that the input power cannot be controlled according to the temperature. To solve these problems, a microwave oven with a silicon carbide mold was proposed in this study. Uniaxial tensile tests were conducted to obtain the tensile properties of the fiber metal laminate (FML) specimen. In addition, a microscopic image was captured to investigate the non-adhesive area. The tensile properties and thickness distribution of the FML specimens manufactured by the proposed and previous MCF processes were compared according to the cutting location of the FML sheets. Furthermore, the non-adhesive area was quantified to compare the processes. The results revealed that the proposed MCF process improved the tensile properties of the FML specimen and reduced the non-adhesive area.
Keywords: fiber metal laminate; microwave composite forming; self-reinforced polypropylene; silicon carbide mold; uniaxial tensile test.