Ceramic materials defined

Porosity. A measure of the proportion of pores in a ceramic material, defined... 

The processes employed in manufacturing a ceramic are defined and controlled to produce a product with properties suited to a specific appHcation. Processing—microstmcture—property relationships are deterrnined by characterizing the ceramic raw materials, mixes, and the formed ceramic body intermittently during processing and after final thermal consoHdation. It is possible to modify and optimize processes to optimize properties and to identify and correct processing deficiencies when less than optimal properties are obtained. Examples of some process—microstmcture—property relations in advanced ceramics are outlined in Figure 4. 

Capacitors. Ceramic materials suitable for capacitor (charge storage) use are also dependent on the dielectric properties of the material. Frequently the goal of ceramic capacitors is to achieve maximum capacitance in minimum volume. The defining equation for capacitance is given by ... 

Crockery preferably is made from ceramic materials, although it is brittle and can break rather easily. Properties of ceramics, such as resistance to absorb flavours and low heat conductivity, however, are superior compared to metals and plastics. Therefore, we defined a task to design crockery with improved mechanical strength. 

Approximately ten years ago, it was first reported by Haertling and Land (jj that optical transparency was achieved in a ferroelectric ceramic material. This material was, in reality, not just one composition but consisted of a series of compositions in the lanthanum modified lead zirconate-lead titanate (PLZT) solid solution region. The multiplicity of compositions, each with different mechanical, electrical and electrooptic properties has led to a decade of study in defining the chemical and structural nature of these materials in understanding the phenomena underlying their optical and electrooptic properties and in evaluating the practicality of the large number of possible applications (2-12),... 

Conventional routes to ceramics involve precipitation from solution, drying, size reduction by milling, and fusion. The availability of well-defined mono-dispersed particles in desired sizes is an essential requirement for the formation of advanced ceramics. The relationship between the density of ceramic materials and the sizes and packing of their parent particles has been examined theoretically and modeled experimentally [810]. Colloid and surface chemical methodologies have been developed for the reproducible formation of ceramic particles [809-812]. These methodologies have included (i) controlled precipitation from homogeneous solutions (ii) phase transformation (iii) evaporative deposition and decomposition and (iv) plasma- and laser-induced reactions. 

Although in practice the formation of inner cracks requires a certain threshold loading, for most brittle ceramic materials this threshold is negligibly small (usually less than 1 newton, seen clearly in hardness tests). It is thought that cracks make well defined spheres entirely beneath the contact zone, and that they grow downwards as the load is applied. Such a system presents a complicated elastic-plastic problem. 

Ceramic composites may be defined as those ceramic materials that consist of two or more fundamentally different components that are able to act... 

But not all ceramic materials are clay (glass is made of sand], and they don t all behave the same way. They are, it turns out, far more interesting and versatile than one might imagine. For years, ceramics were generally defined as inorganic, nonmetallic materials, are known primarily as silicate bearing, that is, composed of the natural minerals that make up most of the rocks in the earth s crust. 

Ceramic powder characteristics are important because the purity of the powder sets the maximum purity level of the final processed ceramic part, and the particle size and size distribution play major roles in defining the microstructure and properties of the final parts. Both the purity and the microstructure of sintered ceramics influence the properties of ceramic materials, including mechanical, thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties and chemical corrosion resistance. 

Although a complete treatment is beyond the scope of this entry, it is worth considering the source of improved mechanical properties of glass-ceramic materials over simple glass materials. There are many aspects of mechanical performance that combine to define the utility of a material, including numerous... 

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