JME_V2_N4_RP4 Amit Bansal A.K.Sharma Pradeep Kumar Shantanu Das Journal on Mechanical Engineering 2249 - 0744 2 4 18 24 Joining, Microwave Energy, Hybrid Heating, Microstructure, Characterization In the present work microwave energy has been explored as a new processing method of joining bulk metallic materials. Microwave joining of Inconel 718 plates has been successfully carried out using a multimode applicator at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and a power of 900 W. Principles of microwave hybrid heating (MHH) were effectively employed for joining of Inconel 718 plates by placing an interlayer of Ni powder of average thickness of about 0.2 mm between the interfacing surfaces. The susceptor material, charcoal was used for initial coupling of microwave with powder interlayer. Resulting joints were characterized using X ray diffraction (XRD), (SEM) scanning electron microscope and (EPMA) electron probe micro analysis. The back scattered electron (BSE) microgaph confirm that the faying surfaces were well fused and metallurgical bonding takes place on either side of the base material. Tests were conducted to examine the joint tensile strength. The analysis shows that the joints have an average strength of 400 MPa with an percentage elongation of 6 percent. August - October 2012 Copyright © 2012 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=1986