advanced ceramics

Introduction
Chemical routes to precursors
- Coprecipitation and freeze-drying
- Spray roasting
- The sol-gel route
- The Pechini process
- Combustion synthesis
- High-temperature synthesis
- Exotic energy deposition
Consolidation
- Traditional methods
- Tape casting
- Injection molding
Densification
- Solid-state sintering
  - Pressure-assisted sintering
  - Rapid heating
- Chemical bonding
  - Reaction sintering
  - Infiltration
  - The Lanxide process
- Film deposition
Products

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Steps in doctor blading, a tape-casting process employed in the production of ceramic films. Ceramic powder and solvent are mixed to form a slurry, which is treated with various additives and binders, homogenized, and then pumped directly to a tape-casting machine. There the slurry is continuously cast onto the surface of a moving carrier film. The edge of a smooth knife, generally called a doctor blade, spreads the slurry onto the carrier film at a specified thickness, thereby generating a flexible tape. Heat lamps gently evaporate the solvent, and the dry tape is peeled away from the carrier film and rolled onto a take-up reel for additional processing.

Opaque alumina. In alumina solidified without chemical sintering aids, pores are trapped within the grains, scattering light and contributing to the material's opacity.

Translucent alumina. With the use of magnesia as an aid during sintering (densifying under heat), light-scattering pores remain on the boundaries between grains and diffuse from the material, helping to make the alumina translucent.

Hot isostatic pressing (HIP), a pressure-assisted method for sintering advanced ceramic pieces. A ceramic piece is inserted into the heater compartment of a pressure vessel, which is evacuated of air by means of a vacuum pump. A thermocouple placed between the piece and the heating coils monitors the process temperature, which is regulated by an outside temperature controller. Overall electrical controls are monitored by a computerized power controller. An inert gas is fed under pressure into the vessel; at the end of the HIP cycle the gas is vented through an exhaust valve and the temperature is reduced by cold water pumped through a cooling jacket.

Figure 3: Barriers to slip in ceramic crystal structures. Beginning with the rock salt structure of magnesia (MgO; shown at left), in which there is a stable balance of positive and negative charges, two possible crystallographic planes show the difficulty of establishing stable imperfections. The (111) plane (shown at top) would contain atoms of identical charge; inserted as an imperfection into the crystal structure, such an imbalanced distribution of charges would not be able to establish a stable bond. The (100) plane (shown at bottom) would show a balance between positive and negative charges, but a shear stress applied along the middle of the plane would force identically charged atoms into proximity—again creating a condition unfavourable for stable bonding.

Figure 1: Resistance to cracking in transformation-toughened zirconia. In a ceramic composed of tetragonal zirconia dispersed in a zirconia matrix, the stress field advancing ahead of a propagating crack transforms the small tetragonal particles to larger monoclinic particles. The larger particles exert a crack-closing force in the process zone behind the crack tip, effectively resisting propagation of the crack.

Diagram of a multilayer capacitor with alternating thin layers of metal electrodes and ceramic dielectric inside a green plastic coating, and two wire leads extending outward.

Quizzes

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Building Blocks of Everyday Objects

Related Questions

How are advanced ceramics used in mineral-processing equipment?
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Why is small particle size important in advanced ceramic sintering?
Why is transformation-toughened zirconia sometimes called ceramic steel?
Why must pores in bone-growth implants be interconnected and larger than 100 micrometres?

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Science Learning Hub - What are ceramics?

advanced ceramics

ceramics

Also known as: engineering ceramics, fine ceramics, high-performance ceramics, high-tech ceramics, technical ceramics(Show More)

Written by

Thomas O. Mason

Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Coeditor of Symposium on Point Defects and Related Properties of Ceramics and others.

Thomas O. Mason

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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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History

advanced ceramics, substances and processes used in the development and manufacture of ceramic materials that exhibit special properties. Ceramics, as is pointed out in the article ceramic composition and properties, are traditionally described as inorganic, nonmetallic solids that are prepared from powdered materials, are fabricated into products through the application of heat, and display such characteristic properties as hardness, strength, low electrical conductivity, and brittleness. Advanced ceramics represent an “advancement” over this traditional definition. Through...

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