Applications and Processing of Ceramics

Introduction Ceramics

The word ceramic is originated from greekword keromikos, which means burnt stuff.

Ceramics are compounds of metallic and non-metallic elements.

Characteristics of ceramics are:

high temperature stability

high hardness

Brittleness

High mechanical strength

low elongation under application of stress

Low thermal and electrical conductivities

Classification Ceramics
Ceramics are classified in many ways. It is due to divergence in composition,
properties and applications.

Based on their composition, ceramics are:

Oxides
Carbides
Nitrides
Sulfides
Fluorides, etc.

Based on their specific applications, ceramics are classified as:

Glasses
Clayproducts
Refractories
Abrasives
Cements
Advanced ceramics for special applications
Glasses: glasses are a familiar group of ceramics containers, windows, mirrors,
lenses, etc. They are non-crystalline silicates containing other oxides, usually CaO,
Na2O, K2O and Al2O3which influence the glass properties and its color. Typical
property of glasses that is important in engineering applications is its response to
heating. There is no definite temperature at which the liquid transforms to a solid as with
crystalline materials. A specific temperature, known as glass transition temperature or
fictive temperature is defined based on viscosity above which material is named as
super cooled liquid or liquid, and below it is termed as glass.

Clay products: clay is the one of most widely used ceramic raw material. It is found in
great abundance and popular because of ease with which products are made. Clay
products are mainly two kinds structural products (bricks, tiles, sewer pipes) and white-
wares (porcelain, chinaware, pottery, etc.).

Refractories: these are described by their capacity to withstand high temperatures

without melting or decomposing; and their inertness in severe environments. Thermal
insulation is also an important functionality of refractories.

Abrasive ceramics: these are used to grind, wear, or cut away other material. Thus
the prime requisite for this group of materials is hardness or wear resistance in addition
to high toughness. As they may also exposed to high temperatures, they need to exhibit
some refractoriness. Diamond, silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, silica sand, aluminium
oxide / corundum are some typical examples of abrasive ceramic materials.

Cements: cement, plaster of paris and lime come under this group of ceramics. The
characteristic property of these materials is that when they are mixed with water, they
form slurry which sets subsequently and hardens finally. Thus it is possible to form
virtually any shape. They are also used as bonding phase, for example between
construction bricks.

Advanced ceramics: these are newly developed and manufactured in limited range
for specific applications. Usually their electrical, magnetic and optical properties and
combination of properties are exploited. Typical applications: heat engines, ceramic
armours, electronic packaging, etc.

Aluminium oxide / Alumina (Al2O3): it is one of most commonly used ceramic

material. It is used in many applications such as to contain molten metal, where material
is operated at very high temperatures under heavy loads, as insulators in spark plugs,
and in some unique applications such as dental and medical use. Chromium doped
alumina is used for making lasers.

Aluminium nitride (AlN): because of its typical properties such as good electrical
insulation but high thermal conductivity, it is used in many electronic applications such
as in electrical circuits operating at a high frequency. It is also suitable for integrated
circuits. Other electronic ceramics include barium titanate(BaTiO3) and Cordierite
(2MgO-2Al2O3-5SiO2).

Diamond(C): it is the hardest material known to available in nature. It has many

applications such as industrial abrasives, cutting tools, abrasion resistant coatings, etc.
it is, of course, also used in jewellery.

Lead zirconium titanate(PZT): it is the most widely used piezoelectric material, and is
used as gas igniters, ultrasound imaging, in underwater detectors.

Silica (SiO2): is an essential ingredient in many engineering ceramics, thus is the most
widely used ceramic material. Silica-based materials are used in thermal insulation,
abrasives, laboratory glassware, etc. it also found application in communications media
as integral part of optical fibers. Fine particles of silica are used in tires, paints, etc.

Silicon carbide (SiC): it is known as one of best ceramic material for very high
temperature applications. It is used as coatings on other material for protection from
extreme temperatures. It is also used as abrasive material. It is used as reinforcement
in many metallic and ceramic based composites. It is a semiconductor and often used in
high temperature electronics. Silicon nitride (Si3N4) has properties similar to those of
SiCbut is somewhat lower, and found applications in such as automotive and gas
turbine engines.

Titanium oxide (TiO2): it is mostly found as pigment in paints. It also forms part of
certain glass ceramics. It is used to making other ceramics like BaTiO3.
Titanium boride (TiB2): it exhibits great toughness properties and hence found
applications in armorproduction. It is also a good conductor of both electricity and heat.
Uranium oxide (UO2): it is mainly used as nuclear reactor fuel. It has exceptional
dimensional stability because its crystal structure can accommodate the products of
fission process.
Yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG, Y3Al5O12): it has main application in lasers (Nd-
YAG lasers).
Zirconia(ZrO2): it is also used in producing many other ceramic materials. It is also
used in making oxygen gas sensors, as additive in many electronic ceramics. Its single
crystals are part of jewellery.

Processing ceramics
The very specific character of ceramicshigh temperature stabilitymakes conventional
fabrication routes unsuitable for ceramic processing.

Inorganic glasses, though, make use of lower melting temperatures. Most other
ceramic products are manufactured through powder processing.

However there is an important consideration in ceramic-forming that is more prominent

than in metal forming: it is dimensional tolerance. Post forming shrinkage is much higher
in ceramics processing because of the large differential between the final density and
the as-formed density.

Processing ceramics Glasses

Glasses, however, are produced by heating the raw materials to an elevated
temperature above which melting occurs. Most commercial glasses are of the silica-
soda-lime variety, where silica is supplied in form of common quartz sand, soda (Na2O)
in form of soda ash (Na2CO3) while the lime (CaO) is supplied in form of limestone
(CaCO3).
Glass melt is processed by different route to form different products:
Pressingto form shapes like plates and dishes
Blowingused to produce objects like jars, bottles, light bulbs.
Drawingto form lengthier objects like tubes, rods, whiskers, etc.

Pressing & Blowing

Ceramic powder processing
Ceramic powder processing route: synthesis of powder, followed by fabrication of
green product which is then consolidated to obtain the final product.

Synthesis of powder involves crushing, grinding, separating impurities, blending

different powders.

Different techniques such as compaction, tape casting, slip casting, injection

moldingand extrusion are then used to convert processed powders into a desired shape
to form what is known as green ceramic. The green ceramic is then consolidated further
using a high-temperature treatment known as sintering or firing.

Ceramic powders prepared are shaped using number of techniques, such as casting,
compaction, extrusion/hydro-plastic forming, injection molding.

Tape casting, also known as doctor blade process, is used for the production of thin
ceramic tapes. In this technique slurry containing ceramic particles, solvent, plasticizers,
and binders is then made to flow under a blade and onto a plastic substrate. The shear
thinning slurry spreads under the blade. The tape is then dried using clean hot air.
Later-on the tape is subjected to binder burnout and sintering operations. Tape
thickness normally range between 0.1 and 2 mm. Commercially important electronic
packages based on alumina substrates and barium titanatecapacitors are made using
this technique.

Slip castingis another casting technique widely used. This technique uses aqueous
slurry, also known as slip, of ceramic powder. The slip is poured into a plaster of Paris
(CaSO4:2H2O) mold. As the water from slurry begins to move out by capillary action, a
thick mass builds along the moldwall. When sufficient product thickness is built, the rest
of the slurry is poured out (drain casting). It is also possible to continue to pour more
slurry in to form a solid piece (solid casting).

Extrusion & Injection

Extrusion and injection moldingtechniques are used to make products like tubes,
bricks, tiles etc. The basis for extrusion process is a viscous mixture of ceramic
particles, binder and other additives, which is fed through an extruder where a
continuous shape of green ceramic is produced. The product is cut to required lengths
and then dried and sintered. Injection moldingof ceramics is similar to that of
polymers. Ceramic powder is mixed with a plasticizer, a thermoplastic polymer, and
additives. Then the mixture is injected into a die with use of an extruder. The polymer is
then burnt off and the rest of the ceramic shape is sintered at suitable high
temperatures. Ceramic injection moldingis suitable for producing complex shapes.

Most popular technique to produce relatively simple shapes of ceramic products in

large numbers is combination of compaction and sintering. For example: electronic
ceramics, magnetic ceramics, cutting tools, etc. Compaction process is used to make
green ceramics that have respectable strength and can be handled and machined. Time
for compaction process varies from within a minute to hours depending on the
complexity and size of the product. Basically compaction process involves applying
equal pressure in all directions to a mixture ceramic powder to increase its density. In
some cases, compaction involves application of pressure using oil/fluid at room
temperatures, called cold iso-static pressing (CIP).Then the green ceramic is sintered
with or without pressure. CIP is used to achieve higher ceramic density or where the
compaction of more complex shapes is required. In some instances, parts may be
produced under conditions in which compaction and sintering are conducted under
pressure at elevated temperatures. This technique is known as hot iso-static pressing
(HIP), and is used for refractory and covalently bonded ceramics that do not show good
bonding characteristics under CIP. HIP is also used when close to none porosity is the
requirement. Another characteristic feature of HIP is high densities can be achieved
without appreciable grain growth.

Sintering is the firing process applied to green ceramics to increase its strength.
Sintering is carried out below the melting temperature thus no liquid phase presents
during sintering. However, for sintering to take place, the temperature must generally be
maintained above one-half the absolute melting point of the material. During sintering,
the green ceramic product shrinks and experiences a reduction in porosity. This leads to
an improvement in its mechanical integrity. These changes involve different mass
transport mechanisms that cause coalescence of powder particles into a more dense
mass. With sintering, the grain boundary and bulk atomic diffusion contribute to
densification, surface diffusion and evaporation condensation can cause grain growth,
but do not cause densification. After pressing, ceramic particles touch one another.
During initial stages of sintering, necks form along the contact regions between adjacent
particles thus every interstice between particles becomes a pore. The pore channels in
the compact grow in size, resulting in a significant increase in strength. With increase in
sintering time, pores become smaller in size. The driving force for sintering process is
the reduction in total particle surface area, and thus the reduction in total surface
energy. During sintering, composition, impurity control and oxidation protection are
provided by the use of vacuum conditions or inert gas atmospheres.