Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SiC used for inner plates of ballistic vests Ceramic Materials in Gas Turbine Engines
CERAMICS
• Ceramics are inorganic & nonmetallic materials. Ceramics are
generally known as ‘Clay products’
• Most ceramics are compounds between metallic and nonmetallic
elements for which interatomic bonds are either totally ionic, or
predominantly ionic but having some covalent character.
• Degree of ionic character is dependent on electro-negativities of the
atoms. For predominantly ionic bonding, metallic cations are positively
charged and nonmetallic ions have negative charges. Crystal structure
is determined by the charge magnitude on each ion and the radius of
each type of ion.
• Term ceramic comes from Greek word ‘keramikos’, means “burnt
stuff,” indicating that desirable properties of these materials are
achieved through a high-temperature heat treatment.
• “Traditional Ceramics” have clay as primary raw material; products
china porcelain, bricks, tiles, etc.
• Glasses and high-temperature ceramics are special ceremics.
CERAMICS
• Modern development and understanding has changed the
fundamental understanding of ceramics.
• New generation of ceramics has evolved and found place in
hi-tech applications in electronic, computer, communication,
aerospace, etc. For example:
Surface protection of space shuttle orbiter, exposed to 1450 ºC
Gas turbine engine blades
Ceramic Coating to reduce wear, prevent corrosion, or to provide a
thermal barrier in aerospace high temperature applications
Bearing that are light, rigid, hard & resists high temperatures
High speed-wear resistant cutting / machining tools
High performance machine parts, rings, piston, seals, gaskets, etc
Electrical insulator to be used at high temperatures
Transparent baking dish
Refractory lining for furnaces, nuclear reactors, etc
Characteristics of Ceramics
• Low density compared to metals
• High melting point or decomposition temperature
• High hardness and very brittle
• High elastic modulus and moderate strength
• High electrical resistivity
• High temperature wear resistance
• Highly Thermal Shock resistant
• High corrosion resistance
• Low thermal conductivity
• Low toughness
• Highly brittle
• In crystalline ceramics, crack propagation is usually transgranular
and along specific crystallographic planes (cleavage)
Figure 12.20 Schematic representations of cation Figure 12.21 Schematic diagram showing Frenkel and
and anion vacancies and a cation interstitial. Schottky defects in ionic solids.
Classification of Ceramics
• Ceramics are classified in many ways due to divergence
in composition, properties and applications.
Characteristics of Zirconia
• Comparative high toughness
• Good resistance to thermal shock
• Resistance to wear
• Resistance to corrosion
• Low thermal conductivity
• High hardness
Applications: Zirconia beads are used in grinding ball-mills, Used as sensors in automotive,
sensors and actuators (piezo-electric property)
Special Ceramics and its Properties
Partially Stabilized Zirconia (PSZ) is Zirconia doped with oxides of calcium, yttrium or
magnesium. PSZ has all the advantageous mechanical characteristics of Zirconia and in
addition it has the following special characteristics:
• Coefficient of thermal expansion is 20% lower than that of cast iron
• Thermal conductivity is about 30% of that of other ceramics
Applications: Because of these special characteristics it is very suitable for heat engine
components, such as cylinder liners and valve bushings.
Carbides are: Tungsten carbide, Titanium carbide & Silicon carbide. Its characteristics are:
• Good resistance to wear
• Good resistance to thermal shock
• Withstand high temperatures
• Good resistance to corrosion
• Low coefficient of friction at high temperatures
Applications:
Tungsten carbide with cobalt as binder is used for cutting tools and dies
Silicon carbide is used for heat engine components; incl mechanical seal faces, bearings,
gas turbine rotors, hydraulic plungers and pistons
Special Ceramics and its Properties
Nitrides are: Cubic Boron Nitride, Titanium Nitride & Silicon Nitride. Cubic boron nitride is
the hardest material next to diamond. Its properties are:
Applications:
Cubic Boron Nitride is used for cutting tools and as abrasive in grinding wheels.
Titanium Nitride is used as a coating material on cutting tools
Silicon Nitride is used for high temperature applications such as: automotive engine and
gas turbine components, engine valves, turbocharger rotors, bearings etc.
Special Ceramics and its Properties
Graphite is a crystalline form of carbon having a layered structure. Its characteristics are:
• High electrical conductivity
• High thermal conductivity
• Highly anisotropic
• Withstands high temperatures
Applications:
• Carbon Nano tubes (discussed separately)
• Heating elements
• Brushes for motors
• High temperature fixtures
• Furnace parts
• Crucibles, etc
MEMS silicon motor together with a legs of a spider mite standing on gears
strand of human hair from a micro-engine
Optical Fibers
• Advanced ceramic material that is a critical component in our modern optical
communications systems is optical fiber.
• Optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or
plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair.
• Optical fibers are used to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber and find
wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where it permit transmission over
longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than wire cables.
• Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with
less loss. Additionally, fibers are immune to electromagnetic interference, a
problem from which metal wires suffer excessively.
• Fibers are also used for illumination and imaging. Specially designed fibers are
also used for a variety of other applications, including fiber optic
sensors and fiber lasers.
• Optical fiber is made of extremely high-purity silica, which must be free of even
minute levels of contaminants and other defects that absorb, scatter, and
attenuate a light beam.