CERAMICS

STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF CERAMICS

Introduction
Ceramics materials are 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 same covalent character

 The term ceramics comes from the Greek word keramikos, which means burnt stuff, indicating that desirable properties of these materials are normally achieve through a hightemperature heat treatment process called FIRING.

CERAMIC STRUCTURE

Crystal structure
Ceramic bonds are mixed, ionic and covalent, with a proportion that depends on the particular ceramics. The ionic character is given by the difference of electro negativity between the cations (+) and anions (-). Covalent bonds involve sharing of valence electrons. Very ionic crystals usually involve cations which are alkalis or alkaline-earths (first two columns of the periodic table) and oxygen or halogens as anions.

 Two characteristics of the complementation in crystalline ceramics materials influence the crystal structure are the magnitude of the electric charge on each of the components ions and the relationship of the cations and anions.

AX-type Crystal structure

Examples of AX-type crystal structure: structure of rock salt (NaCl)

 Structure of Cesium Chloride (CsCl)

Structure of Zinc blende (Zns)

Am Xp- type crystal structure

Structure of Calcium Fluoride (CaF2)

AmBnXp- type of crystal structure

Structure of Barium titanate (BaTiO3)

Silicate Ceramics
Oxygen and Silicon are the most abundant elements in Earths crust. Their combination (silicates) occur in rocks, soils, clays and sand

Imperfection in Ceramics
Atomic point defects The expression defect structure is often used to designate the types and concentrations of atomic defect in ceramics. Because the atoms exist as charge ions, electro neutrality must be maintained. Electro neutrality is the state that exist when there are equal number of cations and anions

Two types of defect

Frenkel defect-A Frenkel defect, Frenkel pair, or Frenkel disorder is a type of point defect in a crystal lattice. The defect forms when an atom or cation leaves its place in the lattice, creating a vacancy, and becomes an interstitial by lodging in a nearby location not usually occupied by an atom.

Example of frenkel defect

Schottky defect
Schottky defect -a type of point defect in a crystal lattice named after Walter H. Schottky. The defect forms when oppositely charged ions leave their lattice sites, creating vacancies. These vacancies are formed in stoichiometric units, to maintain an overall neutral charge in the ionic solid. The vacancies are then free to move about as their own entities. Normally these defects will lead to a decrease in the density of the crystal.

Example of schottky defect

Mechanical properties
The brittle fracture of ceramics limits applications. It occurs due to the unavoidable presence of microscopic flaws (micro-cracks, internal pores, and atmospheric contaminants) that result during cooling from the melt. The flaws need to crack formation, and crack propagation (perpendicular to the applied stress) is usually transgranular, along cleavage planes. The flaws cannot be closely controlled in manufacturing; this leads to a large variability (scatter) in the fracture strength of ceramic materials.

 The compressive strength is typically ten times the tensile strength. This makes ceramics good structural materials under compression (e.g., bricks in houses, stone blocks in the pyramids), but not in conditions of tensile stress, such as under flexure. Plastic deformation in crystalline ceramics is by slip, which is difficult due to the structure and the strong local (electrostatic) potentials. There is very little plastic deformation before fracture.

 Non-crystalline ceramics, like common glass deform by viscous flow (like very high-density liquids). Viscosity decreases strongly with increases temperature.

Stress-strain of behavior
The stress-strain behavior of brittle ceramics is not usually ascertained, First, it is difficult to prepare and test specimens having the required geometry. Second, it is difficult to grip brittle materials without fracturing them. Third, ceramics fail after only about 0.1% strain.

Flexural strength
The stress at fracture using this fractural text is known as flexural strength, modulus of rapture, fracture strength, or the bend strength, an important mechanical parameter for brittle ceramics

Hardness
One beneficial mechanical property of ceramics is their hardness, which is often utilized when an abrasive or grinding action is required. Ceramic materials are known as the hardest material.

Mechanisms of plastic deformation

plastic deformation is a result of permanent distortion of lattice by extensive rearrangement of atoms within it. There is an irreversible shear displacement of one part of the crystal relative to another in a definite crystallographic direction. This process is known as slip. Slip follows the path of least energy. It coincides to the direction in which atoms are most closely packed.

Why ceramic materials are harder yet more brittle than metal?
One reason for the hardness and brittleness of ceramic materials is the difficulty of slip or dislocation motion.

Reasons why slips also difficult and why they are brittle the covalent bonds are relatively strong There are also limited numbers of slip system Dislocation structures are complex

Application and processing of ceramics

Types and application of ceramics

Ceramics materials

glasses

Clay products

refractories

abrasives

Advance ceramics

glass

Structural clay products

fireclay

Glass-ceramics

White ware

silica

basic

special

Glasses
Glass-ceramics have an amorphous phase and one or more crystalline phases and are produced by a so called "controlled crystallization" in contrast to a spontaneous crystallization Glass-ceramics are mostly produced in two steps: First, a glass is formed by a glass manufacturing process. The glass is cooled down and is then reheated in a second step. In this heat treatment the glass partly crystallizes

 Two prime characteristics of glass are their optical transparency and the relative ease with which they may be fabricated.

Clay products
Structural clay product -ceramic products intended for use in building construction. Typical structural clay products are building brick, paving brick, terra-cotta facing tile, roofing tile, and drainage pipe. These objects are made from commonly occurring natural materials, which are mixed with water, formed into the desired shape, and fired in a kiln in order to give the clay mixture a permanent bond. Finished structural clay products display such essential properties as load-bearing strength, resistance to wear, resistance to chemical attack, attractive appearance, and an ability to take a decorative finish.

 White ware - any of a broad class of ceramic products that are white to off-white in appearance and frequently contain a significant vitreous, or glassy, component. Including products as diverse as fine china dinnerware, lavatory sinks and toilets, dental implants, and spark-plug insulators, white wares all depend for their utility upon a relatively small set of properties: imperviousness to fluids, low conductivity of electricity, chemical inertness, and an ability to be formed into complex shapes. These properties are determined by the mixture of raw materials chosen for the products, as well as by the forming and firing processes employed in their manufacture.

Refractories
Fireclay - is a type of clay which is used in the production of heat resistant clay items, such as the crucibles used in metals manufacturing. This type of clay is commonly mined from areas around coal mines, although other natural deposits are also available as potential sources, with many nations having deposits of clays suitable for use in high temperature applications. Fire clay can also be refined and treated to make it suitable for specialty applications.

 Silica - are made from quartzites and silica gravel deposits with low alumina and alkali contents. They are chemically bonded with 3to3.5 percent lime. Silica refractories have good load resistance at high temperatures, are abrasion-resistant, and are particularly suited to containing acidic slags. Of the various grades coke-oven quality, conventional, and super-duty the super-duty, which has particularly low impurity contents, is used in the superstructures of glass-melting furnaces.

 Basic refractories

Special refractories

 Abrasives - is a material, often a mineral, that

is used to shape or finish a work piece through rubbing which leads to part of the work piece being worn away. While finishing a material often means polishing it to gain a smooth, reflective surface it can also involve roughening as in satin, matte or beaded finishes. Common uses for abrasives include grinding, polishing, buffing, honing, cutting, drilling, sharpening, lapping, and sanding

Advance ceramics
microelectromechanical system (MEMS) mechanical parts and electronic circuits combined to form miniature devices, typically on a semiconductor chip, with dimensions from tens of micrometres to a few hundred micrometres (millionths of a metre). Common applications for MEMS include sensors, actuators, and processcontrol units.

 Optical fibers - is a

thin, flexible, transparent fiber that acts as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers is known as fiber optics.

 Ceramic ball bearings -A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the moving parts of the bearing. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this by using at least two races to contain the balls and transmit the loads through the balls. Usually one of the races is held fixed. As one of the bearing races rotates it causes the balls to rotate as well. Because the balls are rolling they have a much lower coefficient of friction than if two flat surfaces were rotating on each other.

Fabricating and processing of ceramics

Glass and Glasses-ceramics

Glass properties
Melting point Working point Softening point Annealing point Strain point

Glass forming
There are four different method of forming a glass

Heating glasses
Annealing - is a process of slowly cooling glass to relieve internal stresses after it was formed. The process may be carried out in a temperature-controlled kiln known as a Lehr. Glass which has not been annealed is liable to crack or shatter when subjected to a relatively small temperature change or mechanical shock. Annealing glass is critical to its durability. If glass is not annealed, it will retain many of the thermal stresses caused by quenching and significantly decrease the overall strength of the glass.

Clay products

Fabricating techniques
Hydro plastic forming consists in the creation of component by manual or mechanized manipulation of the hydroplasticised clay
Extrusion is used for forming prismatic section by applying pressure on the stiff clay mass and forcing it through a shaped die orifice by an auger.

 Slip casting - Forming a hollow ceramic part by introducing a pourable slurry into a mold. Tape casting - A process for making thin sheets of ceramics using a ceramic slurry consisting of binders, plasticizers, etc. The slurry is cast with the help of a blade onto a plastic substrate.