Ceramic

materials –
- inorganic and nonmetallic materials.
- Most ceramics are compounds between metallic and
nonmetallic elements for which the interatomic bonds are
either totally ionic, or predominantly ionic but having some
covalent character.
- The term “ceramic” comes from the Greek word
keramikos, which means “burnt stuff,” indicating that
desirable properties of these materials are normally achieved
through a high-temperature heat treatment process called
firing.
Ceramic Structures
- Because ceramics are composed of at least two elements,
and often more, their crystal structures are generally more
complex than those for metals.
-
CRYSTAL STRUCTURES
For those ceramic materials for which the atomic bonding is
predominantly ionic, the crystal structures may be thought of
as being composed of electrically charged ions instead of
atoms.
Two characteristics of the component ions
-in crystalline ceramic materials influence the crystal structure:

1. magnitude of the electrical charge on each of the component

ions - the crystal must be electrically neutral; that is, all the
cation positive charges must be balanced by an equal number
of anion negative charges.
2. relative sizes of the cations and anions - Stable ceramic crystal
structures form when those anions surrounding a cation
are all in contact with that cation,
AX-Type Crystal Structures
- Some of the common ceramic materials are those in which
there are equal numbers of cations and anions - AX compounds
where : A = cation and X = anion.

Rock Salt Structure

- most common AX crystal structure is the sodium chloride (NaCl),
rock salt, type. The coordination number for both cations and
anions is 6, and therefore the cation–anion radius ratio is
between approximately 0.414 and 0.732.
A unit cell for this crystal structure is generated from an FCC
Cesium Chloride Structure
-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.
- Interchange of anions with cations, and vice versa, produces
the same crystal structure. This is not a BCC crystal structure
because ions of two different kinds are involved.
Zinc Blende Structure
- coordination number is 4; that is, all ions are tetrahedrally
coordinated.
-all corner and face positions of the cubic cell are occupied by S
atoms, while the Zn atoms fill interior tetrahedral positions.
-each Zn atom is bonded to four S atoms, and vice versa.
-Most often the atomic bonding is highly covalent in compounds
exhibiting this crystal structure which include ZnS, ZnTe, and SiC.
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
Crystal Structures from the Close Packing of Anions
- a number of ceramic crystal structures may be considered in
terms of close-packed planes of ions, as well as unit cells.
-close-packed planes are composed of the large anions. As these
planes are stacked atop each other, small interstitial
sites are created between them in which the cations may reside.
Ceramic Density Computations
CARBON
- graphite, one of the polymorphic forms, is sometimes
classified as a ceramic, and, in addition, the crystal structure of
diamond, another polymorph, is similar to that of zinc blende

Diamond
- a metastable carbon polymorph at room temperature and
atmospheric pressure.
-Its crystal structure is a variant of the zinc blende, in which carbon
atoms occupy all positions (both Zn and S),
-each carbon bonds to four other carbons, and these bonds are
totally covalent
-Relatively large diamond single crystals are used as gem stones.
-Industrially, diamonds are utilized to grind or cut other softer materials
-Techniques to produce synthetic diamonds have been developed,
beginning in the mid-1950s, that have been refined to the degree that
today a large proportion of the industrial quality materials are man-made,
in addition to some of those of gem quality.
-
-surfaces of drills, dies, bearings, knives, and other tools have been
coated with diamond films to increase surface hardness;
some lenses have been made stronger while remaining
transparent by the application of diamond coatings;
-coatings have also been applied to loudspeaker tweeters and to
high-precision micrometers.
-Potential applications for these films include application to the
surface of machine components such as gears, to optical recording
heads and disks, and as substrates for semiconductor devices.
Graphite
- A polymorph of carbon ; distinctly different from that of
diamond and is also more stable than diamond at ambient
temperature and pressure.
-structure is composed of layers of hexagonally arranged
carbon atoms; within the layers, each carbon atom is bonded
to three coplanar neighbor atoms by strong covalent bonds.
- The fourth bonding electron participates in a weak van der
Waals type of bond between the layers. As a consequence of
these weak interplanar bonds, interplanar
cleavage is facile, which gives rise to the excellent lubricative
properties of graphite.
- the electrical conductivity is relatively high in crystallographic
directions parallel to the hexagonal sheets.
-high strength and good chemical stability at elevated temperatures
and in nonoxidizing atmospheres,
-high thermal conductivity, low coefficient of thermal expansion and
high resistance to thermal shock,
-high adsorption of gases, and good machinability.
-Graphite is commonly used as heating elements for electric
furnaces, as electrodes for arc welding, in metallurgical crucibles, in
casting molds for metal alloys and ceramics, for high-temperature
refractories and insulations, in rocket nozzles, in chemical reactor
vessels, for electrical
contacts, brushes and resistors, as electrodes in batteries, and in air
purification devices.
Mechanical Properties

Ceramic materials are somewhat limited in applicability by their

mechanical properties, which in many respects are inferior to
those of metals. The principal drawback is a disposition to
catastrophic fracture in a brittle manner with very little energy
absorption.
Types and Applications of Ceramics

GLASSES
-are a familiar group of ceramics; containers, lenses, and
fiberglass represent typical applications.
-noncrystalline silicates containing other oxides, notably CaO,
Na2O, K2O, and Al2O3, which influence the glass properties.
-A typical soda–lime glass consists of approximately 70 wt% SiO2,
the balance being mainly Na2O (soda) and CaO (lime).
GLASS–CERAMICS

Most inorganic glasses can be made to transform from a

noncrystalline state to one that is crystalline by the proper
high-temperature heat treatment. This process is
called crystallization, and the product is a fine-grained
polycrystalline material which is often called a glass–ceramic.
Properties and Applications of Glass–Ceramics
Characteristics:
1. relatively high mechanical strengths;
2. low coefficients of thermal expansion (to avoid
thermal shock);
3. relatively high temperature capabilities;
4. good dielectric properties (for electronic packaging
applications); and
5. good biological compatibility.
-Some glass–ceramics may be made optically transparent; others
are opaque.
- can be easily fabricated; conventional glass-forming techniques
may be used conveniently in the mass production of nearly pore-
free ware.

Glass–ceramics are manufactured commercially under the trade

names of
1. Pyroceram™, 2. Corningware™, 3. Cercor™, 4. Vision™.

The most common uses for these materials are as

- ovenware, tableware, oven windows, and rangetops—primarily
because of their strength and excellent resistance to thermal shock
-serve as electrical insulators and as substrates for printed circuit
boards,
-used for architectural cladding, and for heat exchangers and
regenerators.

CLAY PRODUCTS
-One of the most widely used ceramic raw materials is clay.
-inexpensive ingredient, found naturally in great abundance,
- often is used as mined without any upgrading of quality.
- ease with which clay products may be formed; when mixed in the
proper proportions, clay and water form a plastic mass that is very
amenable to shaping.
-The formed piece is dried to remove some of the moisture, after
which it is fired at an elevated temperature to improve its
mechanical strength.
Most of the clay-based products fall within two broad
classifications:
1. The structural clay products
2. whitewares.

-Structural clay products include building bricks, tiles, and sewer

pipes
- The whiteware ceramics become white after the high-temperature
firing. Included in this group are porcelain, pottery, tableware,
china, and plumbing fixtures (sanitary ware).

Nonplastic ingredients, which influence the changes that take place

during the drying and firing processes, and the characteristics of the
finished piece.
REFRACTORIES
- Has the capacity to withstand high temperatures without
melting or decomposing, and the capacity to remain
unreactive and inert when exposed to severe environments.
- ability to provide thermal insulation
-bricks are the most common.

Typical applications:
1. include furnace linings for metal refining,
2. Glass manufacturing,
3. metallurgical heat treatment, and
4. power generation.
ABRASIVES
-are used to wear, grind, or cut away other material, which
necessarily is softer.
-the prime requisite for this group of materials is hardness or
wear resistance;
-high degree of toughness is essential to ensure that the abrasive
particles do not easily fracture.
- high temperatures may be produced from abrasive frictional
forces,
Diamonds, both natural and synthetic, are utilized as abrasives;
however, they are relatively expensive.

The more common ceramic abrasives : silicon carbide,

tungsten carbide (WC), aluminum oxide (or corundum), and silica
sand.
Abrasives are used in several forms

1. bonded to grinding wheels, as coated abrasives -

2. as loose grains.
CEMENTS
Inorganic ceramic materials:
- cements: cement, plaster of paris, and lime, which, as a group,
are produced in extremely large quantities.

-The characteristic feature of these materials is that when mixed

with water, they form a paste that subsequently sets and hardens. -
useful in that solid and rigid structures having just about any shape
may be expeditiously formed.
- portland cement is consumed in the largest tonnages.
-produced by grinding and intimately mixing clay and lime-
bearing minerals in the proper proportions, and then heating
the mixture to about in a rotary kiln; this process, sometimes
called calcination,
- produces physical and chemical changes in the raw materials.
The resulting “clinker” product is then ground into a very fine
powder to which is added a small amount of gypsum (CaSO4–
2H2O) to retard the setting process. This product is portland
cement.

-The properties of portland cement, including setting time and

final strength, to a large degree depend on its composition.
ADVANCED CERAMICS
In particular, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties and
property combinations unique to ceramics have been exploited in
a host of new products
- 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)
Microelectromechanical systems (abbreviated MEMS) are
miniature “smart” systems
-consisting of a multitude of mechanical devices that are
integrated with large numbers of electrical elements on a
substrate of silicon.
-mechanical components are microsensors and microactuators.

1. Microsensors collect environmental information by measuring

mechanical, thermal, chemical, optical, and/or magnetic
phenomena.
2. The microelectronic components then process this sensory
input, and subsequently render decisions that direct responses
from the microactuator devices—devices that perform such
responses as positioning, moving, pumping, regulating, and
filtering
These actuating devices include beams, pits, gears,motors, and
membranes, which are of microscopic dimensions, on the order of
microns in size.

-The processing of MEMS is virtually the same as that used for the
production of silicon-based integrated circuits; this includes
photolithographic, ion implantation, etching, and deposition
technologies, which are well established.
-MEMS components are very sophisticated, reliable, and miniscule
in size.
- MEMS technology is very economical and cost effective.

There are some limitations to the use of silicon in MEMS. Silicon

has a low fracture toughness a relatively low softening temperature
and is highly active to the presence of water and oxygen.
Optical Fibers
- One new and advanced ceramic material that is a critical
component in our modern optical communications systems
-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.
-Very advanced and sophisticated processing techniques have
been developed to produce fibers that meet the rigid restrictions
required for this application
Ceramic Ball Bearings
-consists of balls and races that are in contact with and rub
against one another when in use.
-In the past, both ball and race components traditionally have
been made of bearing steels that are very hard, extremely
corrosion resistant, and may be polished to a very smooth
surface finish.
-Over the past decade or so silicon nitride (Si3N4) balls have
begun replacing steel balls in a number of applications, since
several properties of Si3N4 make it a more desirable material.
- In most instances races are still made of steel, because its
tensile strength is superior to that of silicon nitride.
- This combination of ceramic balls and steel races is termed a
hybrid bearing.
Fabrication and Processing of Ceramics