CERAMICS

PRESENTATION BY: SAM-BANDAWE WESLEY A.

JUMA MCDONALD K.
WHAT ARE CERAMICS

• A ceramic is an inorganic non-metallic solid made up of either metal or non-metal compounds that have
been shaped and then hardened by heating to high temperatures.
PROPERTIES OF CERAMICS
• Extreme hardness: High wear resistance, Extreme hardness can reduce wear caused by friction
• Corrosion resistance
• Heat resistance: Low electrical conductivity, Low thermal conductivity(high melting point), Low thermal
expansion , Poor thermal shock resistance
• Low ductility: Very brittle ,High elastic modulus
• Low toughness: Low fracture toughness, Indicates the ability of a crack or flaw to produce a catastrophic
failure
• Low density: Porosity affects properties
• High strength at elevated temperatures
• chemically Considerable durability (they're long-lasting and hard-wearing) stable don’t react with
external environment
TYPES OF CERAMICS

• Glass-ceramics ,
• Clay Products ,
• Refractories,
• Abrasives ,
• Cements,
• Magnetic ,
• Advanced Ceramics.
GLASS CERAMICS
• Glass-ceramics are fine-grained polycrystalline materials formed when glasses of suitable compositions
are heat treated and thus undergo controlled crystallisation to the lower energy, crystalline state.
• It is important to emphasise a number of points in this statement on glass-ceramics. Firstly, only specific
glass compositions are suitable precursors for glass-ceramics; some glasses are too stable and difficult
to crystallise, such as ordinary window glass, whereas others crystallise too readily in an uncontrollable
manner resulting in undesirable microstructures. Secondly, the heat treatment is critical to the
attainment of an acceptable and reproducible product.
• Usually a glass-ceramic is not fully crystalline; typically the microstructure is 50vol% to 95vol%
crystalline with the remainder being residual glass.
• Applications Technical Applications Consumer Applications Optical Applications Medical and Dental
Glass‐Ceramics Electrical and Electronic Applications Architectural Application Coatings and Solders
CLAY PRODUCT

• in this category many of the common ceramics like bricks and tiles are used. They are basically prepared from
clay. For their shape and state, they are processed and pressed in a wet plastic state after which they are dried
and then fried. Clay products that have higher density show better mechanical properties but they also have
the low insulating capacity. And thus can easily catch fire. Higher density is achieved through an increase in
vitrification and also through increasing fire temperature and finer original particle size.
• Common clay is mostly used for bricks, cement, and aggregate.
• Kaolin is widely used for making glossy paper.
• Bentonite has a variety of industrial uses, including drilling mud and foundry sand, and is also found in
household products that absorb pet waste.
• Ball clay is a high quality clay prized for its use in ceramics, sanitary ware, and wall and floor tiles.
• Fuller's Earth is also used for pet-waste products.
• Fire clay is used in refractory (high-temperature) bricks and cement.
REFRACTORIES

• Ceramic can resist higher temperatures and that is why they are also used as Refractories. Refractor
ceramics can withstand very high temperature and are thus used as insulating materials. They can also
resist high stress. Refractors should also resist abrasive particles, hot gasses, and molten metals. For
best refractors ceramics made of pure oxide is use
• APPLICATION used in furnaces, kilns, incinerators, and reactors used to make crucibles and moulds for
casting glass and metals and for surfacing flame deflector systems for rocket launch structures.
ABRASIVES

• These type of ceramics are used to grind and cut the softer materials. The abrasive material is also hard
in nature and can wear resistance which is a very important property for its design. Along with this
toughness is also required as they do not get shatter while grinding. Abrasives can be natural or
synthetic. Some of the examples we can see in day to day life are silicon carbide, normal silica sand, and
tungsten carbide.
• Applications grinding, polishing, buffing, honing, cutting, drilling, sharpening, lapping, and sanding.
MAGNETIC

• Ceramics possess two types of magnetic categories- low conductivity and superconducting magnets.
Low conductivity is used in transformers like objects where a magnet is also required to have some
electrical properties. Ceramics has a special property of conducting electricity without resistance and so
no energy loss. This property can be useful for superconducting magnets. As this is only possible at a
critical temperature and magnetic field this property is very limited.
• Low conductivity magnets are used in applications where the magnet is required to have some
electrical insulating properties, such as in transformers.
ADVANCED CERAMICS
• Advanced ceramics are not generally clay-based. Instead, they are either based on oxides or non-oxides or
combinations of the two:
• Typical oxides used are alumina (Al2O3) and zirconia (ZrO2)
• Non-oxides are often carbides, borides, nitrides and silicides, for example, boron carbide (B4C), silicon carbide
(SiC) and molybdenum disilicide (MoSi2)
• Production processes firstly involve thoroughly blending the very fine constituent material powders. After
shaping them into a green body, this is high-temperature fired (1,600–1,800°C). This step is often carried out
in an oxygen-free atmosphere.
• The high temperature allows the tiny grains of the individual ceramic components to fuse together, forming a
hard, tough, durable and corrosion-resistant product. This process is called sintering A method for making
objects from powder that involves heating to a high temperature. The powder particles can fuse together,
forming very strong bonds, making the final product hard, tough and durable..
APPLICATIONS OF ADVANCED CERAMICS

• Advanced ceramic materials are now well established in many areas of everyday use, from fridge
magnets to an increasing range or industries, including metals production and processing, aerospace,
electronics, automotive and personnel protection.
• In modern medicine, advanced ceramics – often referred to as bio-ceramics – play an increasingly
important role. Bio-ceramics such as alumina and zirconia are hard, chemically inert materials that can
be polished to a high finish. They are used as dental implants and as bone substitutes in orthopedic
operations such as hip and knee replacement.
PROCESSING OF CERAMICS

• Ceramic processing is used to produce commercial products that are very diverse in size, shape, detail,
complexity, and material composition, structure, and cost. The purpose of ceramics processing to an
applied science is the natural result of an increasing ability to refine, develop, and characterize ceramic
materials.
• Typical ceramic processing route: powder synthesis – green component (casting, extrusion, compaction)
– sintering / firing.
POWDER SYNTHESIS

• The first step of the ceramic process includes clays preparation. Raw materials extracted from the
quarry are dosed, crushed then mixed in order to make up a clay body allowing the products shaping.
• Raw materials from the quarry are discharged into hoppers. Proportioning is ensured by regulated box
feeders then the matters are transferred by band conveyors to weighting stations in order to adjust the
various matters.
• Raw materials grinding and mixing can be performed on dry track with hammer or pendula mills – or on
wet track with roller mills. The choice of grinding technology is made according to the raw materials
used, the required grinding particle size and to the type of products to be manufactured.
POWDER PRESSING

• Prior to shape forming ceramic powders are mixed with processing additives (binders, plasticizers, lubricants,
deflocculants, water etc.).
• Powder pressing, either unaxialy or isostatically, is the most common method used for high-volume
production of ceramic components. The object of a pressing process is to form a net-shaped, homogeneously
dense powder compact that is nominally free of defects. A typical pressing operation has three basic steps: (1)
filling the mold or die with powder, (2) compacting the powder to a specific size and shape, and (3) ejecting
the compact from the die. To optimize a pressing operation, experienced press operators generally understand
and control parameters such as die-fill density, die-wall friction, packing density, and expansion on ejection.
• Die pressing is the powder compaction method involving uniaxial pressure applied to the powder placed in a
die between two rigid punches.
• Uniaxial (die) pressing is effectively used for mass production of simple parts (alternative method is isostatical
pressing).
POWDER PRESSING CONTINUED
• The pressing process consists of the following stages: Die filling
• At this stage a controlled amount of the powder is fed into the die cavity. Compaction Upper punch moves
down and presses the powder with a predetermined pressure. The pressure varies between 10,000 psi to
120,000 psi (69 MPa to 830 MPa).
• Green” compact part ejection and removal (“green” compact – unsintered powder compact) . The pressing
cycle repeats 400 to 5000 times/hour, depending on the press type, powder filling properties and the part size
and geometry. Hydraulic and mechanical presses with load up to 750 tons are used for the powder die
pressing.
• Die pressing, which is conducted at room temperature is called cold pressing. If the pressing process is
conducted at increased temperature it is called hot pressing. For example hot pressing of silicon carbide is
carried out at temperature about 3630 ºF (2000ºC). Hot pressing permits obtaining better compaction, higher
green compact density and higher (than in cold pressing) strength of the part.
• Die pressing is used for manufacturing insulating parts, magnetic ceramics, capacitors, substrates.
PROCESSING CERAMICS – GLASSES

• Most of them are silica-soda-lime variety.

• Raw materials are heated to an elevated temperature where melting occurs.
• Glass melt is processed by different route to form different products:
• Pressing – to form shapes like plates and dishes
• Blowing – used to produce objects like jars, bottles, light bulbs.
• Drawing – to form lengthier objects like tubes, rods, whiskers.
CERAMIC POWDER PROCESSING - CASTING

• Slurry of ceramic powder is processed via casting routes

• Tape casting – also known as doctor blade process – used for making thin ceramic tapes. In this slurry of
ceramic powder + binders + plasticizers is spread over plastic substrate. Tape is then dried using hot air
TAPE CASTING

• Tape casting is a fabrication technique to produce thin ceramic sheets from ceramic slurry that casted in
a thin layer onto a flat surface, and then dried and sintered.
• The Tape Casting process involves the casting the slurry onto a flat moving carrier surface. The slurry
usually consists of a ceramic powder with the appropriate additions of solvents plasticisers and binders.
The ceramic tape produced can be used for a variety of purposes, including the manufacture of
electronic components such as ceramic capacitors.
• During the Tape Casting process the slurry passes beneath the knife edge as the carrier surface
advances along a supporting table. The solvents evaporate to leave a relatively dense flexible sheet or
ceramic tape that may be stored on rolls or stripped from the carrier in a continuous process.
TAPE CASTING PROCESS: FIGURE 1. SLIP IS CAST ONTO A
FLAT SURFACE BY DOCTOR BLADE TO A CARRIER FILM OR
STEEL BELT.
TAPE CASTING: PROCESS TECHNOLOGY
• The feed stock for the tape casting process is a slip made from a suspension of ceramic, metal or polymer
particles in an organic solvent or water, mixed together with strengthening plasticizers and/or binders.4 The
actual tape is formed when the slip is cast onto a flat surface by doctor blade to a carrier film or steel belt (see
Figure 1). Slurries are milled and then mixed in a pressure vessel where viscosity and temperature are
controlled, and vacuum de-airing is performed prior to casting. Good slip preparation practices are essential to
making high-quality finished products. Inconsistent, non-uniform mixtures are often the cause of tape defects.
• After the slip has been doctor bladed to a carrier, the wet tape is dried to remove solvents. Numerous drying
systems are used in tape casting, but some common types include heated air that flows from the discharge
end to the entrance end above the tape, discretely located radiant heaters mounted directly above the tape,
and electric resistance heaters located in the support structure that heat the tape from below.
• After drying, tapes may be wound on a reel in preparation for additional manufacturing steps, such as slitting,
hole punching, metallizing or firing. While most green ceramic tapes require firing in a furnace, many non-
ceramic tapes such as PVDF polymers do not require firing.
TAPE CASTING CONTINUED

• Tape Casting is a process of forming a thin film of ceramic slurry spread over a flat surface. The slurry
film thickness is controlled by a knife edge located above the moving carrier surface.
• The solvent, containing in the slurry, evaporates, resulting in formation of ceramic sheet, which may be
stripped from the supporting surface.
• Tape Casting is used for manufacturing multilayer ceramics for capacitors and dielectric insulators.
CERAMIC POWDER PROCESSING – COMPACTION

• Ceramic powder is compacted to form green shapes of sufficient strength to handle and to machine.
• Basis for compaction – application of external pressure from all directions.
• In cold iso-static pressing (CIP), pressure is applied using oil/fluid, then green product is subjected to
sintering.
• In hot iso-static pressing (HIP), pressure is applied at high temperatures thus compaction and sintering
occurs simultaneously. Its is expensive, but have certain advantages.
PROCESSING OF CERAMICS SINTERING

• Sintering – process of subjecting the green ceramic to elevated temperatures with the purpose of
gaining mechanical integrity.
• Driving force for sintering – reduction in total surface area and thus energy.
• Diffusion (atomic- and bluk-) is responsible for growth of bonds at contact points of particles (necks).
This lead to coalescence of particles, and eventual mechanical integrity