Microwave drying of fabrics

AbstractIn this study, the microwave drying of fabrics at 2.45 GHz was investigated experimentally. The effect and efficiency of microwave drying on different fabrics at powers of 700 W and 300 W are discussed. The loss tangent of the fabrics was measured to analyze the relationship between drying efficiency and the fabric characteristics. By investigating the breaking tensile strength variation and the changes in the microstructure of the fabrics, we found that microwave drying of fabric samples was similar to natural air-drying and that excessive microwave drying destroyed the fabrics. Based on these results, an optimized process for microwave drying is proposed.