Ministry of higher education and scientific research
University Of Mustansiriyah
Collage Of Engineering
Advanced Ceramic
Applications Of Advanced
Ceramic
❖ Names:
-Hajer Riyadh Khalid
-Gullshan Safaa Najm
-Emad Ahmed Mohammed
❖ Forth stage/Ceramic and building
materials
INTRODUCTION:
Ceramics, 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 the application of a modern material
science approach, new materials or new combinations of
existing materials have been designed that exhibit
surprising variations on the properties traditionally
ascribed to ceramics. As a result, there are now ceramic
products that are as tough and electrically conductive as
some metals. Developments in advanced ceramic
processing continue at a rapid pace, constituting what can
be considered a revolution in the kind of materials and
properties obtained.
With the development of advanced ceramics, a more
detailed, “advanced” definition of the material is required.
advanced ceramic can be described as “an inorganic,
nonmetallic (ceramic), basically crystalline material of
rigorously controlled composition and manufactured with
detailed regulation from highly refined and/or
characterized raw materials giving precisely specified
attributes.” A number of distinguishing features of
advanced ceramics are pointed out in this definition: First,
they tend to lack a glassy component; i.e., they are
“basically crystalline.” Second, microstructures are usually
highly engineered, meaning that grain sizes, grain shapes,
porosity, and phase distributions (for instance, the
arrangements of second phases such as whiskers and
fibers) are carefully planned and controlled. Such planning
and control require “detailed regulation” of composition
and processing, with “clean-room” processing being the
norm and pure synthetic compounds rather than naturally
occurring raw materials being used as precursors in
manufacturing. Finally, advanced ceramics tend to exhibit
unique or superior functional attributes that can be
“precisely specified” by careful processing and quality
control. Examples include unique electrical properties
such as superconductivity or superior mechanical
properties such as enhanced toughness or high-
temperature strength. Because of the attention to
microstructural design and processing control, advanced
ceramics often are high value-added products.
Properties of Ceramics:
Ceramics for today’s engineering applications can be
considered to be non-traditional. Traditional ceramics are
the older and more generally known types, such as:
porcelain, brick, earthenware, etc.
The new and emerging family of ceramics are referred to
as advanced, new or fine, and utilize highly refined
materials and new forming techniques. These “new” or
“advanced” ceramics, when used as an engineering
material, posses several properties which can be viewed as
superior to metal-based systems. These properties place
this new group of ceramics in a most attractive position,
not only in the area of performance but also cost
effectiveness. These properties include (1) high resistance to
abrasion, (2) excellent hot strength, (3) chemical inertness,
(4) high machining speeds (as tools) and (5) dimensional
stability.
Manufacturing Advanced Ceramics:
The process steps in the manufacturing of advanced
ceramics such as silicon nitride and sialon, alumina,
zirconia and sintered silicon carbide are summarized in
the flow diagram below:
Raw Material Processes
⇓
Forming Processes
⇓
Sintering
⇓
Diamond Grinding (optional)
⇓
Inspection
Applications of advanced ceramics:
Advanced ceramics have an amazing range of properties
and uses. Some of these uses include:
-automotive:
Advance ceramic materials have been considered as one of
the leading constituents of motorized vehicular
components for so many decades now. Furthermore, the
fast growing progress of innovative designs and features
and the increasing demand for vehicles as primary
medium of transportations throughout the globe had also
subsequently resulted to ongoing growth of ceramic
industries through research and development of advance
materials.
Today, the use of ceramic materials in automotive
industry has become common and widespread all over the
world. Such utilization and integration include its
application to transducers and sensors such as fuel talk
ultrasonic level sensors. Utilizing specifically the piezo-
electric properties of PZT (or lead zirconia titanate)
ceramic materials made it an ideal component for
transducers and sensors.
Incorporation of piezoceramic materials to fuel tanks of
motor vehicles provides additional space for larger
amount of fuel while reducing the number of openings and
minimizing evaporative emissions.
(piezoceramic transducer) (piezoceramic sensor)
Another good example is the utilization of ceramic based
materials such as alumina and zirconia in harsh
automotive environments such as the seals for injector
units, pump bearings and valve plates. Technically, in
diesel engines, an air temperature of 800 degrees Celsius
is attained during compression stroke of its engine cycle.
Additionally, the injector pump also delivers diesel fuel at
a pressure of 2000 bar which clearly required material
that can withstand such high temperature and pressure for
seals and bearings.
Moreover, ceramic’s resistance to abrasion through long
cycles make the materials more reliable in this matter.
Like for example, “the key advantage of using alumina
plates in such valve assemblies are that the valves are
typically used for more than 20 million cycles.” Therefore,
ceramic based materials have been used as primary
constituents to major automotive components and their
physical and chemical properties are made them an
attractive option to such industry.
-electronics:
Products made of technical ceramics are now proven
components in the construction and control of
sophisticated plants, machinery and equipment with
electrotechnical component assemblies. A special feature
of this class of materials is the wide range of
electrical conductivity. Besides the electrical
properties, magnetic properties are often
required. Compared with metallic
materials, they often enable smaller product
sizes and therefore more economically
attractive products.
• Power Electronics:
Typical ceramic components in power electronics are
casings for vacuum switching tubes, diodes and thyristors
as well as highly resilient electric feedthroughs and surge
arresters. These components that have proven effective
over decades are used widely because of their high
reliability and lifetime in stationary and mobile
applications, in recent years.
The switching of currents with several 1.000 A is not a
problem for vacuum switching tubes, not even at high
switching frequencies. Another advantage is that
additional cooling is not necessary and accordingly small
component sizes can be realized. As the switching
elements are in high-vacuum-tight housing, no oxidation
processes take place that can reduce the switch power.
• Electronic Sensors:
Ceramic sensors can often be found in machinery and
equipment that must meet demanding requirements. In
such applications, they monitor mainly non-electric
variables such as, for example, temperature, pressure, flow
rate, distance, acceleration, moisture content, gas
concentration and transform these into electrical signals,
which are then further processed in downstream
electronic component assemblies.
-Biotechnology
The medical sector benefits from many properties of
ceramics, such as inertness, non-toxicity, hardness, high
compressive strength, low friction coefficient, wear and
chemical resistance, sterile nature, ability to be
manufactured with various degrees of porosity, very good
aesthetics, and durability. Their brittleness is being
mitigated by the introduction of ceramic composites and
nanostructured materials, and by processing, for example
through hot isostatic pressing.
Ceramic coatings are also considered in these cases when
there is a need to rely on the substrate’s mechanical
strength and toughness.
• Bioceramics
Ceramics for the human body are called
bioceramics. are primarily used for medical implants,
either in the form of bulk components or as coatings or
fillers. Orthopedic procedures that involve the surgical
installment of these implants are aimed at replacing hip,
knee, joint, cranio-maxillofacial and spinal hard tissues
and are becoming very popular as the world’s population
continues to age.
• Dental systems
Another relevant application of ceramic materials is
represented by dental ceramics, which include orthodontic
devices (e.g., braces), prostheses (e.g., crowns, bridges)
and implants (e.g., all-ceramic root implants). Because
they can be made to match the natural color of the tooth,
ceramic materials give better results from the standpoint
of aesthetics, compared with traditional metal products.
With respect to dental implants, ceramic materials offer
better osseointegration than titanium and are being
engineered to prevent infection and deterioration,
particularly through the use of nanomaterials.
-Environmental applications
Technical ceramics are one of several materials, such as
glass, plastics and metals, that can be used to protect the
environment as well as help regenerate damaged
ecosystems. The use of technology created from these
materials for this purpose is known as environmental
[Link] of the most well-known pieces of
technology developed for environmental engineering is the
λ (lambda) sensor. The sensor is an exhaust gas oxygen
sensor and is used in vehicles to measure and control the
air/fuel ratio in exhaust gases. This allows a three-way
catalytic converter to reduce engine emissions.
(principle of operation of the λ
sensor)
in particular, technical ceramics have many properties that
aid environmentally friendly products. Their ability to
withstand temperatures above 1000 °C mean that they are
perfect to use in photovoltaic, solar energy conversion as
well as for other power plant engine systems. In addition
to this, ceramic components have high resistance to
thermal shock, wear and corrosive attack. This means that
they are good to use in environmental technology in the
water processing and treatment industry.
Silicon nitride ceramic roller bearings are used in wind
turbines. This bearing is made of a material that is
resistant to wear, temperature and chemical corrosion.
The material is advertised as ideal for ‘maintenance-
intensive applications’, such as turbines, tidal power
stations or chemical industries. It has high electrical
resistance and low friction which means that they are
especially good for use in generators or machines which
have a high maintenance cost.
There is a wide range of technical ceramics available for
use in the environmental engineering sector. These range
from dens-sintered monolithic oxide ceramics to filter
ceramics, including piezoceramics, magnetic ceramics and
fiber-reinforced ceramics.
It should be noted that many of these technical ceramics
are used mostly in components that are subjected to high
stresses rather than environmental issues. This is
especially so when the component requires extreme stress
resistance because technical ceramics can be far superior
to other non-ceramic materials, like steel. This is usually
due to their ability to resist wear, meaning that they have
long serviceability and are thought to be reliable when part
of rough machinery.
References
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❖ Cermatec. (2014, April 14). Silicon Nitride Ceramics for Roller Bearing
Technology. Retrieved from
[Link]: [Link]
icon-nitride-ceramics-for-roller-bearing-technology/
❖ Treffpunkt Keramik. (n.d.). Environmental Engineering. Retrieved from
[Link]: [Link]
[Link]/[Link]?cat1_id=2195
