Subject Name:

Industrial Material

Instructor: Arshad Farooq (Lecturer)

Department of Mechanical Technology, The University of Lahore (UOL)
Email: arshad.farooq@tech.uol.edu.pk
 Topic

Ceramics Material
1. Structure and properties of Ceramics
2. Application and processing

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 Introduction
“The science of ceramics material, nearly old as mankind, is the processing of
earthly materials by heat. Ceramics material which consist of metallic and non-
metallic elements bonded together primarily by ionic or covalent bond” such as
silicates, aluminates, oxides, carbides, and hydroxides are compounds of
ceramics material. Clay was one of the earliest materials used to produce
ceramics, but many different ceramics material are now used in domestic,
industrial and building products. Ceramics material tend to be strong, stiff, brittle,
chemically inert, and non-conductors of heat and electricity. One of the most
interesting high-temperature applications of ceramics materials is their use on the
space shuttle, jet engines and atomic reactor.
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 Ceramics Bonding “mostly ionic some covalent ”

 Ceramics composed of at least two elements. Ceramics crystal

structure are generally more complex than those for metals.

 Ceramics Bonding:
Mostly ionic, some covalent

 Ionic character increases with

difference electronegativity

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 Ionic Bonding & Structure
The atom that loses the electrons becomes a positively charged ion
(cation), while the one that gains them becomes a negatively charged ion
(anion). an ionic bond results from the transfer of electrons from a metal
to a non-metal.
Two characteristics of the component ions in crystalline ceramics
-
materials influence the crystal structure.
 The magnitude of the electrical charge
 The relative sizes of the cations and anions
Remember: -
For Stable Ceramics Crystal Structure +

All anions must be in contact with cations

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 Coordination Numbers and Geometries for Various
Cation–Anion Radius Ratios (rC/rA)
1. For rC/rA ratios less than 0.155, the very small cation is bonded
to two anions in a linear manner.
2. For rC/rA has a value between 0.155 and 0.225, each cation
is surrounded by three anions in the form of a planar
equilateral triangle
3. For rC/rA between 0.225 and 0.414 the cation is located at
the center of a tetrahedron, with anions at each of the
four corners.
4. For rC/rA between 0.414 and 0.732, the cation may be
thought of as being situated at the center of an octahedron
surrounded by six anions, one at each corner.
5. For rC/rA between 0.732 and 1.0, with anions at all corners
of a cube and a cation positioned at the center.
Note: Coordination number can be find by this formula, 𝐶 𝐴
 Crystal Structure “AX-Type Crystal Structure”
Some of the common ceramic materials are those in which there are
equal numbers of cations and anions. These are often referred to as AX
compounds, where A denotes the cation and X the anion.
1. Rock salt structure
The most common AX crystal structure is the sodium
chloride (NaCl), or rock salt type. The coordination
number for both cations and anions is 6. Some
of the common ceramic materials that form with
this crystal structure are NaCl, MgO, MnS, LiF, and FeO.
 Makes AX types structure which have equally
number of cations and anions e.g. NaCl
 Can’t say FFC structure but similar to FCC
 Crystal Structure “AX-Type Crystal Structure”
2. Cesium Chloride Structure
A unit cell for the cesium
chloride (CsCl) crystal structure. The
coordination number is 8 for both ion
types. The anions are located at each of
the corners of a cube, whereas the cube
center is a single cation. This is not a BCC
crystal structure because ions of two
different kinds are involved. AX types and
equal number of cation and anions e.g. CsBr, Csl
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 Crystal Structure “AX-Type Crystal Structure”
3. Zinc Blende Structure

A third AX structure is one in which the

coordination number is 4; that is, all ions
are tetrahedrally coordinated. This is called
the zinc blende, or sphalerite, structure, after
the mineralogical term for zinc sulfide (ZnS).
This crystal structure includes ZnS, ZnTe, and SiC.

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 Ceramics Structure
“AmXp-Type Crystal Structures”
If the charges on the cations and anions are not the same, a
compound can exist with the chemical formula AmXp
where m and/or p ≠ 1. (Cation ≠ Anion)

For which a common crystal structure is found in fluorite

(CaF2). The ionic radii ratio rC/rA for CaF2 is about 0.8,
coordination number of 8. Calcium cations Are positioned
at the centers of cubes, with fluorine ions at the corners.

One-unit cell consists of eight cubes. Other compounds that

have this crystal structure include ZrO2 (cubic), UO2, PuO2, and ThO2.
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 Ceramics Structure
“AmBnXP -Type Crystal Structures”
It is also possible for ceramic compounds to have more
than one type of cation; for two types of cations (represented by A and B),
their chemical formula may be designated as AmBnXp.
Barium titanate (BaTiO3), having both Ba2+ and Ti4+ cations,
falls into this classification. At temperatures above 120 C the
crystal structure is cubic. Ba2+ ions are situated at all eight
corners of the cube and a single Ti4+ is at the cube center,
with O2- ions located at the center of each of the six faces.

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 Ceramic Density Computations
It is possible to compute the theoretical density of a crystalline ceramic material
from unit cell data. In this case the density may be determined using a modified
form of Equation as follows:
′
𝑐 𝐴

𝑐 𝐴
′
= the number of formula units within the unit cell

𝑐 = the sum of the atomic weights of all cations in the formula unit

𝐴 = the sum of the atomic weights of all anions in the formula unit

𝑐 = the unit cell volume

𝐴 = Avogadro’s number, 6.022×1023 formula units/mol

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 EXAMPLE PROBLEM 12.3

′
= 4 in FCC lattice

𝑐 = 𝑁𝐴 = 22.99 g/mol

𝐴 = 𝐶𝐼 = 35.45 g/mol

𝑁𝐴 = 0.102x10-7

𝑐 = 3
= (2rNa+2rCl)3

𝑐 = (2×0.102×10-7 + 2×0.181×10-7)3 cm3

−7 −7 3 23

−3
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 Silicate Ceramics
Silicates are materials composed primarily of silicon and oxygen, the two most
abundant elements in the earth’s. Most important are the +4 and −2 . In all
silicates the basic unit is the 4 tetrahedron. Silicates are important
constituents of most of the ceramics material since. The bulk of soils, rocks, clays,
and sand come under the silicate classification. Each atom of silicon is bonded to
four oxygen atoms, which are situated at the corners of the tetrahedron; the silicon
atom is positioned at the center.

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 Silicate Ceramics “Silica (SiO2)”
Chemically, the most simple silicate material is
silicon dioxide, or silica (SiO2). Structurally, it is a
three-dimensional network that is generated when
the corner oxygen atoms in each tetrahedron are
shared by adjacent tetrahedral. There are three primary
polymorphic crystalline forms of silica: quartz, cristobalite
and tridymite. The strength of the Si–O interatomic bonds is
reflected in a relatively high melting temperature 1710 C.
Silicates are used as reinforcing glass fibers, chemical wares
and electrical insulators.
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 Types and Application of Ceramics
1. Pure Oxide Ceramics “Glass Ceramics”
Glass may also be defined as a hard, brittle, transparent, material chiefly compound of
silica, combined with varying proportions of oxides of sodium, potassium, calcium,
lime, manganese dioxide, iron and other minerals.
Silica: It is the principle constituent of glass.
Sodium or Potassium carbonate: It is added to reduce the melting point of silica
and forms an essential component of glass.
Lime: it makes the glass bright and shining.
Manganese dioxide: It is added to correct the colour of glass due to the presence
of iron in raw materials of glass.
Cullet: it is old broken waste glass o the same type.

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 Types and Application of Ceramics
2. “Fire-Clay Product” Bricks, tiles, porcelain etc…
One of the most widely used ceramic raw materials is clay. This
inexpensive ingredient, found naturally in great abundance, often is
used as mined without any upgrading of quality.
Most of the clay-based products fall within two broad classifications:
The structural clay products
Structural clay products include building bricks, tiles, and sewer pipes
applications in which structural integrity is important.
The whitewares
The whiteware ceramics become white after the high-temperature
firing. Included in this group are porcelain, pottery, tableware, china,
and plumbing fixtures
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 Types and Application of Ceramics
3.“Refractories” Silica, bricks, magnesite etc…
Refractory materials are marketed in a variety of forms, but bricks are the
most common. Typical applications include furnace linings for metal
refining, glass manufacturing, metallurgical heat treatment, and power
generation. On the basis of composition there are several classifications.
 Fireclay
 High-alumina fireclay:
 Silica refractories:
 Periclase
 Periclase–chrome ore

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 Types and Application of Ceramics
4.“Abrasives” Alumina, Silicon carbide etc …
Abrasive ceramics are used to wear, grind, or cut away other material,
which necessarily is softer. Diamonds, both natural and synthetic, are
utilized as abrasives; however, they are relatively expensive. The more
common ceramic abrasives include
 silicon carbide,
 tungsten carbide (WC),
 aluminum oxide (or corundum),
 and silica sand.

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 Types and Application of Ceramics
5.“Cements”
It is produced by grinding and intimately mixing clay and lime-bearing
minerals in the proper proportions and then heating the mixture to about
1400°C. in a rotary kiln this process sometimes called calcination,
produces physical and chemical changes in the raw materials.
 Portland cement is termed a hydraulic cement because its hardness
develops by chemical reactions with water.
 Other cement materials, such as lime, are non-hydraulic; that is,
compounds other than water (e.g., CO2) are involved in the hardening
reaction.

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 Advanced Ceramics
Advanced ceramics are utilized in optical fiber communications systems, in
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), as ball bearings, and in applications that
exploit the piezoelectric behavior of a number of ceramic materials.
 Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS): such responses as positioning, moving,
pumping, regulating, and filtering.
 Optical fiber: One new and advanced ceramic material that is a critical component
in our modern optical communications systems is the optical fiber. The optical fiber is
made of extremely high-purity silica, that absorb, scatter, and attenuate a light beam
 Ceramic Ball Bearings: Another new and interesting application of ceramic
materials is in bearings. Some of the applications that employ these hybrid bearings
include inline skates, bicycles, electric motors, machine tool spindles, precision
medical hand tools (e.g., high-speed dental drills and surgical saws), and textile,
food-processing, and chemical equipment.
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 Properties of Ceramics Material
 High hardness
 Good wear resistance
 High melting point
 High working temperature
 Low thermal expansion
 Good electrical insulation
 High compressive strength
 Low thermal shock resistance
 High weather resistance

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