1. Modern Ceramic Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Ing. 郭 瑞 昭
Materials Science & Eng.
National Cheng Kung University
National Chen Kung University,

2. What is ceramics ?
The word ceramics, derives its name from the Greek keramos,
meaning “pottery”, which in turn is derived from an older Sanskrit
Root, meaning “to burn”. The Greeks used the term to mean
“burned earth”. Thus the word was used to refer to a product
obtained through the action of fire upon earthy materials.
Most people, when they hear the word ceramic, think of
art, dinnerware, pottery, tiles, brick and toilets. The above
mentioned products are referred to as traditional ceramics.

3. Outline
History
Processing
Structure
Properties
Performance

4. History One of the major problems encountered in the teaching
of science, is the frequent lack of any social or historical
perspective.
Science does not evolve in a vacuum, but is constrained
By the mores and morals of society at large.

5. Newton Newton wrote more voluminously on alchemy than he ever
did on the laws of motion.
He spent an inordinate amount of time on arcane religious
Philosophy.
He was also a complete misogynist and was probably paranoid.
Newton’s consuming interest in the mystical reflects the
times in which he lived.

6. Material Ages Stone Age ~2,000,000 BC (End of Ice Age) 8,000 BC
Bronze Age 3,200 BC
Iron Age 1,200 BC
Silicon Age AD
New Material Age

7. Material Timeline I Neolithic age:
8,000 BC Clay tokens are used in Mesopotamia to
record business transsactions
6,000 BC Copper smelting is developed.
5,000 BC Gold, silver and copper ornaments are
fashioned from nuggets in e.g. the Balkans.
5,000 BC Babylon is built with fired-brick and
bitumen mortar.
Chalcolithic age:
4,500 BC Copper is smelted in Eastern Europe and Egypt.
4,000 BC Meteoric iron is used to make small tools and
ornaments

8. Material Timeline II Bronze age:
3,500 BC Earliest known use of Bronze is found in Sumer:
first urban civilization
3,000 BC Glass is first used in the Middle East as a glaze
on pottery
1,500 BC Glass vessels are produced in Egypt and
Mesopotamia
Early Iron age:
1,400 BC- The Hittites in Anatolia introduce methods to
1,200 BC produce large quantities of smelted iron.

9. Classification of Ceramics

10. Advanced Ceramics
Advanced ceramic materials have been developed over the past half century
Applied as thermal barrier coatings to protect metal structures, wearing surfaces, or as integral components by themselves.
Engine applications are very common for this class of material which includes silicon nitride (Si3N4), silicon carbide (SiC), Zirconia (ZrO2) and Alumina (Al2O3)
Heat resistance and other desirable properties have lead to the development of methods to toughen the material by reinforcement with fibers and whiskers opening up more applications for ceramics

11. Performance

12. Aerospace Space shuttle tiles, thermal barriers,
high temperature glass window, fuel cells

13. Aerospace
Diagram of space shuttle's ascent and descent temperatures

14. Consumer Uses Glassware, windows, pottery, Corning ware, magnets
Dinnerware, ceramic tiles, lenses, home electronics,
Microwave transducers

15. Automotive Catalytic converters, ceramic filters, airbag sensors,
ceramic rotors, valves, spark plugs, pressure sensors,
thermistors, vibration sensors, oxygen sensors, safety
Glass windshield, piston
Rotor (Alumina)
Gears (Alumina)

16. Medical (Bioceramics)
Orthopedic joint replacement, prosthesis, dental restoration,
bone implants

17. Military
Structural components for ground, air, naval vehicle, missiles
sensors
High-temperature stability and transparency to microwave radiation
ceramic radomes (front row) on Patriot missiles
lightweight ceramic armor

18. Computers Insulators, resistors, superconductors, capacitors,
Ferroelectric components, microelectronic packaging

19. Other Industries
Bricks, cement,membranes and filters, lab equipment

20. Coating

21. Properties of Engineering Ceramics
Ceramics are typically,
hard and brittle
high melting point materials with low electrical
thermal conductivity
good chemical and thermal stability
high compressive strengths

22. Mechanical Properties
• Ceramics and glasses are BRITTLE.
• They fail in the elastic region.
• They fail by crack growth.
• They are better in COMPRESSION than TENSION.
• Cracks open up in tension, but close in compression

23. Mechanical Properties
Mechanical properties depend upon the POROSITY.

24. Structure CERAMICS ARE INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES - NITRIDES – CARBIDES
Ceramics have more complex crystal structures than metals.

25. Structure
WHY?
• The structure has to accommodate anions of different sizes, and has to preserve charge neutrality.
• IONIC or COVALENT bonds.
The diversity in their properties stems from their bonding and crystal structures.
Two types of bonding mechanisms occur in ceramic materials, ionic and covalent. Often these mechanisms co-exist in the same ceramic material. Each type of bond leads to different characteristics.

26. Processing

27. Ceramics Processing

28. Slip Casting
Sinter
and
Serve

29. Powder Pressing Process
Filling
Mould
Compaction
Green part
ejected - then
sintered

30. Sintering Process Pressed Ceramic Particles Sintered for a short time
a long time

31. Microstructure