Technovation 21 (2001) 61–65

www.elsevier.com/locate/technovation

Industrial viewpoint
Application trend in advanced ceramic technologies
Yahong Liang *, Sourin P. Dutta
Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada

Received 2 February 2000; accepted 28 February 2000

Abstract

Advanced ceramics and processes have found potential applications in many fields ranging from heat engines to communication
and energy transmission. In this paper, the evolution of ceramic technology is introduced, and an Advanced Ceramics Application
Tree is developed to illustrate current and future potential application areas.  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Advanced Ceramics Application Tree; Durability; Reliability; High performance/weight rate; High-temperature strength

1. The evolution of ceramics technology
With technological progress, natural materials become
insufficient to meet increasing demands on product capa-
bilities and functions. In ancient times, human beings
used fire to synthesize new materials to improve or
change the properties of naturally available materials.
The invention of the furnace propelled revolutionary
advances in metallurgy, glass and ceramics technology.
The advance of ceramics technology drew on experience
from metallurgical technologies. In the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, there appeared in the marketplace a
wide variety of new types of building materials with
superior durability, strength, and other properties. These
included brick, tile piping for drainage systems and
roofing, sanitary ware and refractory (high-temperature)
insulation materials which served as furnace linings for
glass, steel, and other industries dependant on high-tem-
perature processing of new materials.
There are many combinations of metallic and nonmet-
allic atoms that can combine to form ceramic compo-
nents, and also several structural arrangements are usu-
ally possible for each combination of atoms. This led
scientists to invent many new ceramic materials to meet
increasing requirements and demands in various appli-
cation areas. Advanced furnaces and heat engines played
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-519-253-3000 ext. 2614; fax: +1-
519-973-7062.
E-mail address: liang2@server.uwindsor.ca (Y. Liang).
important roles in the success of the industrial revol-
ution, while ceramic materials were essential for thermal
insulation of various types of furnaces and engines. Elec-
trically insulating ceramic materials were developed as
electrical and electronic technologies matured. As higher
and higher frequencies and voltages were used, the
demand on ceramic dielectrics became more stringent.
Also, new specifications for the magnetic and optical
properties of ceramics were developed as a part of the
new electronic and electro–optical technology revolution
(Musikant, 1991).
2. Industrial research and applications in advanced
ceramic technology
Advanced materials are recognized to be crucial to
the growth, prosperity, and sustained profit-ability of any
industry. The National Research Council in the USA
investigated eight major US industries that employed
seven million people and had sales of 1.4 trillion US
dollars in 1987, to examine the role of materials in future
technology strategies. The result shows a generic need
for lighter, stronger, more corrosion-resistant materials
capable of withstanding high temperatures (Richlen,
1990). Ceramic materials are the leading candidates for
meeting these requirements.
There has been great interest shown in advanced or
high technology ceramic materials among scientists, pol-
icymakers, and corporations in recent years. Varieties of
ceramic materials, which hold remarkable properties

0166-4972/01/$ - see front matter  2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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62 Y. Liang, S.P. Dutta / Technovation 21 (2001) 61–65
able to meet the need for high end applications, have
appeared. Advanced ceramic materials include: oxides,
carbides, nitrides, borides, silicates and glass ceramics
and composite materials-polymer matrix (PMC), metal
matrix (MMC), ceramic matrix (CMC), and carbon–car-
bon (CCC) materials. The most commonly used are alu-
mina, zirconia, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, sialon, fer-
rites and titanates. Substitutions of ceramic components
for traditional parts in many applications result in sub-
stantial productivity improvements and high perform-
ance.
For some time, ceramic engine parts have been under
active development by major automobile manufacturers
and the major component suppliers. Engineers at
Kyocera Corp. (Kyoto, Japan) report that silicon nitride
ceramic glow plugs will give a diesel passenger car the
same fast, cold engine starting action as a gasoline
engine car. The US Department of Energy Office of
Transportation Technologies has made sustained efforts
focusing on emerging customer needs. Some of the
major objectives of ceramic technology programs are:
development of alternative fuels, manufacturing gas-tur-
bine components, advanced silicon nitride fabrication
and forming techniques, life-prediction development,
mechanical property characterization, nondestructive
examination and joining in advanced light-duty vehicles,
as well as research and development on critical techno-
logies that will enable trucks and other heavy vehicles
to fully exploit energy efficiency and alternative fuel
capabilities of the diesel engines, while simultaneously
reducing highway vehicle emissions. The key goal is the
development of cost-effective, high-efficiency, com-
pression ignition diesel engines capable of using alterna-
tive fuels (Wyrick, 1996). In Japan, a few parts are
already in commercial production, albeit in limited vol-
ume. Table 1 provides examples of MMC products com-
mercialized in Japan. Increased use of ceramic materials
Table 1
Examples of MMC products commercialized in Japan (Kevorkijan, 1998)a
Product (composite part) Matrix
Top ring grove of piston for diesel
JIS AC8A
engine (Toyota)
Piston head of diesel engine (Izumi
JIS AC8A
Industries)
Piston head of outboard engine (Suzuki) JIS AC9A
Bicycle frame (Kobe Steel) 6061
Joint of structural material for artificial
6061
satellite (Mitsubishi Electric)
Bore surface of cylinder block (Honda) JIS ADC12
Connecting rod (Honda) JIS AC4D
Crankshaft damper pulley (Toyota) JIS AC8A
Vane for rotary compressor (Sanyo
Al–17%Si
Electric)
a
Source: Government Industrial Research Institute, Nagoya
for commercial applications presents a host of challenges
to both manufacturers and their material suppliers. These
include significant cost, reliability, low volume demand
and manufacturing problems. As we all know from com-
mon experience, ceramics are brittle and are susceptible
to mechanical stresses or those induced by thermal
shock. The fracture occurs because the stresses induced
by the thermal gradients in the structure exceed the
strength of the materials. Relatively high costs are asso-
ciated with new ceramic materials (Kevorkijan, 1998).
In addition to high material cost, ceramic design, pro-
cess technology and machining technology need to
develop significantly to achieve cost effective levels of
high volume production. Because of the high hardness
and low toughness of ceramic materials, diamond grind-
ing is often the method of choice in machining such
materials. This results in high cost of machining tools,
limitation on the types of shapes and materials that could
be machined, lack of knowledge of control and evalu-
ation of new machining and so on. Other drawbacks of
the technology application come from lack of design
data and experience, doubts about recyclability, etc. Pro-
gress in certain key technologies are needed to enable
ceramics to be adapted for heat engine applications.
There are several research projects aimed at the
reduction of various costs required for commercial
implementation. Machining projects supported by the
US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Transpor-
tation Technologies include innovative grinding-wheel
design; high-speed grinding methods; high-speed center-
less grinding spindle; machine-tool stiffness effects on
part quality; grindability test for ceramics; laser-light-
scattering and dye-penetrating inspection; surface quality
and performance assessment (Allor and Jahanmir, 1996).
Main property Reinforcement
Wear resistance Alumina /sillica short fiber
High-temperature tensile strength
SiC whiskers
and thermal fatigue
High-temperature tensile strength
SiC whiskers
and thermal fatigue
Tensile strength SiC whiskers
Tensile strength and elastic
SiC whiskers
modulus
Wear resistance SiC whiskers
Tensile strength alumina and carbon fibers
Creep Stainless fiber
Wear resistance SiC whiskers
 Y. Liang, S.P. Dutta / Technovation 21 (2001) 61–65 63

Fig. 1. Advanced ceramics application tree.

3. Advanced ceramics application tree
The ceramics industry is a very large international
industry with sales amounting to around $100 bn/year
(Campbell, 1997). The technology of ceramics is a rap-
idly developing applied science in today’s world. Tech-
nological advances result from unexpected material dis-
coveries. On the other hand, the new technology can
drive the development of new ceramics. Currently many
new classes of materials have been devised to satisfy
64 Y. Liang, S.P. Dutta / Technovation 21 (2001) 61–65

Table 2
Current and future products for advanced ceramics

Mechanical Engineering Aerospace Automotive Defense industry

Cutting tools and dies Fuel systems and valves Heat engines Tank power trains
Abrasives Power units Catalytic converters Submarine shaft seals
Precise instrument parts Low weight components Drivetrain components Improved armors
Molten metal filter Fuel cells Turbines Propulsion systems
Turbine engine components Thermal protection systems Fixed boundary recuperators Ground support vehicles
Low weight components for rotary
Turbine engine components Fuel injection components Military weapon systems
equipment
Military aircraft (airframe and
Wearing parts Combustors Turbocharger rotors
engine)
Bearings Bearings Low heat rejection diesels Wear-resistant precision bearings
Seals Seals Waterpump seals
Solid lubricants Structures

Biological, Chemical processing

Electrical, Magnetic Engineering Nuclear industry
engineering

Artificial teeth, bones and joints Memory element Nuclear fuel

Catalysts and igniters Resistance heating element Nuclear fuel cladding
Heart valves Varistor sensor Control materials
Heat exchanger Integrated circuit substrate Moderating materials
Reformers Multilayer capacitors Reactor mining
Advanced multilayer integrated
Recuperators
packages
Refractories
Nozzles

Oil industry Electric power generation Optical Engineering Thermal Engineering

Bearings Bearings Laser diode Electrode materials

Flow control valves Ceramic gas turbines Optical communication cable Heat sink for electronic parts
Heat resistant translucent High-temperature industrial
Pumps High temperature components
porcelain furnace lining
Refinery heater Fuel cells (solid oxide) Light emitting diode
Blast sleeves Filters

various new applications. Advanced ceramics offer
numerous enhancements in performance, durability,
reliability, hardness, high mechanical strength at high
temperature, stiffness, low density, optical conductivity,
electrical insulation and conductivity, thermal insulation
and conductivity, radiation resistance, and so on. Cer-
amic technologies have been widely used for aircraft and
aerospace applications, wear-resistant parts, bioceramics,
cutting tools, advanced optics, superconductivity,
nuclear reactors, etc. In most of these applications,
improved materials based on ceramics were purposefully
sought after. These applications dramatically change or
affect the environment in which we live. Not only do
we have economic and material issues to deal with, but
also, unforeseeable changes in economic factors and the
political environment will play significant roles in the
needs for improved components and devices, as well as
affect our ability to apply resources towards research and
development needed to bring new materials to the mar-
ketplace (Freiman and Onoda, 1997).
Ceramics application could be categorized as struc-
tural ceramics, electrical ceramics, ceramic composites,
and ceramic coatings. These materials are emerging as
the leading class of materials needed to be improved to
explore further potential applications. An Advanced Cer-
amics Application Tree, which classifies its current and
potential application areas and related advantageous
properties, has been developed and is shown in Fig. 1.
Current and future advanced ceramic products derived
from the application tree are indicated in Table 2.
Today, advanced ceramics have been widely used in
wearing parts, seals, low weight components and fuel
cells in transportation sectors, to reduce the weight of
product, increase performance especially at high tem-
peratures, prolong the life cycle of a product and
improve the efficiency of combustion. As advances in
ceramic technology offer potential and immediate
opportunities, these materials will translate into greater
market shares in transportation sectors. On the other
hand, future application is still very limited if no break-
throughs are achieved in fundamental and applied
research.
 Y. Liang, S.P. Dutta / Technovation 21 (2001) 61–65
4. Concluding remarks
Advanced material science and engineering appli-
cations have received increasing attention from manu-
facturing industries. In this paper, the evolution of cer-
amics technology is highlighted. Advanced ceramics and
processes have substituted the traditional processes and
raw materials in many fields because of their outstanding
properties. An Advanced Ceramics Application Tree is
developed to identify possible future applications for
advanced ceramics.
References
Allor, R., Jahanmir, S., 1996. Current problems and future directions
for ceramic machining. The American Ceramic Society Bulletin 75
(7), 40–43.
Campbell, J., 1997. Opportunities for ceramic industry. British Cer-
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US for the 21st century: prospects and challenges. Proceedings of
1997 21st Annual Conference on Composites, Advanced Ceramics,
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Musikant, S., 1991. What every engineer should know about ceramics.
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Yahong Liang received her BEng and MSc from Tianjin University, Tian-
jin, PRCHINA. She is currently a candidate for a PhD degree in the Uni-
versity of Windsor. Her current research interests include Management of
Technology, Technology Evaluation and Forecasting, Strategic Planning
and Justification for Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Neural Net-
works, Fuzzy Logic, and Decision Support Systems.
Dr Sourin P. Dutta is Professor and Chair of the Industrial and Manufac-
turing Systems Engineering program in the Faculty of Engineering at the
University of Windsor in Canada. His research interests include Manage-
ment of Technology, Modeling of Heterarchical Manufacturing Systems
and Ergonomics. He has over 100 publications in peer reviews journals
and conference proceedings and has authored five book chapters to date.
He is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Industrial Engin-
eering and Occupational Ergonomics.