Ceramics

Question 1

List the 4 main categories of Ceramics and give examples

Answer 1

Whitewares - Tableware, tiles, potteries, sanitary ware
Structural Ceramics - Bricks, pipes, floor and roof tiles
Refractories - Kiln linings, gas fire radiants, steel and glass making crucibles
Technical Ceramics - Gas burner nozzles, ballistic protection, nuclear fuel, biomedical implants, coatings of jet engine turbine blades, mechanical bearing

Question 2

What are the key aspects and properties of Ceramics?

Answer 2

Chemical composition
Crystal structure
Microstructure
Electrical property
Mechanical property
Thermal stability
Thermal conductivity

Question 3

What’s the typical processing route?

Answer 3

Raw Materials + Powder Production
Batching + Mixing
Milling + Granulation
Drying + Calcination
Compaction + Shaping
Sintering
Product

Question 4

What do phase diagrams help to identify?

Answer 4

They help to identify the suitable temperatures to save energy

Question 5

What is the optimal rotation speed for dry-milling?

Answer 5

65-80% of critical speed

Question 6

To mix substance A and B, which one would be a good way when A is water insoluble and B is water soluble?

Answer 6

Wet-milling and mildly heat the mixture afterwards

Question 7

What is the correct description on calcination?

Answer 7

Calcination aims a product in chemically desired form

Question 8

You are advised to mill the calcined material again. What would you do?

Answer 8

Use a ball-mill to obtain fine powder with a wide particle size distribution

Question 9

What is the correct description on the correlation between the physical property and microstructure of ceramics?

Answer 9

Fracture toughness decreases as grain size increases