SILICON NITRIDE CERAMIC

Group 5 :
Desy Akmalia (333413)
M. Fakih Hasbi (333413)
Rafa Muadz (333413)
Rizki Novid (333412)
Sukma Suci Friandani
(3334131140)
TRI ALIF Shandy (333413)

Silicon Nitride Ceramics

Silicon nitride (Si3N4) was developed in the
1960s and '70s in a search for fully dense,
high strength and high toughness materials.
A prime driver for its development was to
replace metals with ceramics in advanced
turbine and reciprocating engines to give
higher
operating
temperatures
and
efficiencies.

Crystal Structure

Crystal Structure

Si-N Phase Diagram

Types Of Silicon Nitride

Reaction-Bonded Silicon Nitride
(RBSN)
RBSN is made by carefully nitriding a silicon (Si)
dough or compact at about 1450C. During the
Reaction, the Si3N4 grows in the porosity in the
compact. This results in little dimensional change
accompanied by an increase in density. A consequence of this
reaction is that the final product contains porosity.
However, the material is relatively cheap to produce
and has found application
particularly as kiln furniture.

Hot Pressed Silicon Nitride

(HPSN)
HPSN was developed in the 1960s and 1970s.
HPSN is made by
adding a flux (usually magnesia) to a fine
Si3N4 powder and
then pressing the powder in a graphite die
typically
at 1800C and 40MPa of pressure. The
resultant
body is fully dense with excellent mechanical
properties. These HPSNs have found
application as cutting
tools for example. HPSN parts tend to be
expensive.

Sintered Reaction-Bonded Silicon Nitride

(SRBSN)
SRBSN is a development on RBSN aimed at
reducing the final porosity of the product and
therefore improving its mechanical properties. This is
achieved by adding sintering additives to the starting powder
mix which allows the material to be sintered
after the reactionbonding stage.
SRBSN is therefore cheaper to manufacture than
both HPSN and SSN. Applications of SRBSN
include cutting tools and wear components.

Sintered Silicon Nitride (SSN)

SSN covers silicon nitride materials
which are densified by pressureless
sintering in anitrogen atmosphere at
around 1750C. In order to aid
densification, various combinations of
sintering additives such as yttrium
oxide, magnesium oxide and aluminium
oxide are used.

Sialon
Where there is an addition of an
aluminium containing additive the
sintered material can be classed as a
sialon. Sialons are ceramic alloys based
on the elements silicon (Si), aluminium
(Al), oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N).
SSN and sialon generally offer the best
mechanical properties available for a
silicon nitride and are the most widely
used in industrial applications such as
molten metal handling, industrial wear,
metal forming, the oil and gas
industries and the chemical and process
industries.

Comparison of Physical Property Data for

RBSN, HPSN, SRBSN, SSN and Syalon 101

Steel)
Excellent Wear Resistance
Low Coefficient Of Friction
Contact Fatigue Resistant
High Fracture Toughness
Low Surface Porosity

PROPERTIES

Electrical Insulator
Non Magnetic
High Strength
Excellent Chemical Stability.
Thermal Stability.
High Strength Over A Wide
Temperature
Good Thermal Shock Resistance
Good Chemical Resistance

Silicon Nitride Engineering Properties

Additional

Additional Properties

Manufacturing Process Of Silicon Nitride

Ceramic
The process steps in the manufacturing of advanced
ceramics such as silicon nitride are summarised in the flow
diagram below:

Each of these stages in the manufacturing process (with

the exception of the inspection step) influences the
properties of the final product

Raw Material Processes

The raw materials for manufacturing advanced
ceramics come in powder form.

Methods

Spray Dried Powder

Aqueous Slip

Ceramic Dough Feedstock

*Spray Dried Powder

Spray

drying

is

method

of

producing

free

flowing,

uniform,granulated powder which is the ideal feedstock for a variety

of pressing processes such as uniaxial pressing and wet and dry-bag
isostatic pressing. The raw material blend is firstly milled in a ball mill
in a solvent, such as water, using ceramic balls. At this stage up to 5%
of organic binder can be added to the slurry feedstock prior to spray
drying. The binder, which can include a lubricant and pressing aids,
helps give the material good green strength in the subsequent pressing
stage. The slurry and additives is spray dried by atomizing it in a hot
air stream.

*Aqueous Slip
Aqueous slip is prepared by milling together the raw
material blend in a ball mill in water along with an
organic

dispersant

to

produce

fluid,

highly

concentrated slurry, which is used for slip and pressure

casting to produce a high green density part.

*Ceramic Dough Feedstock

Ceramic dough feedstock is prepared by mixing the
ceramic raw material blend with a solvent (usually
water) and a blend of organic binder and plasticizer
to produce a clay-like plastic body that is deformable
under pressure, for example by extrusion.
The quality of these raw material feedstocks
becomes critical in the next stage of manufacture
the forming process. The better the feedstock, the
better the green
density achieved during
consolidation and consequently
the lower the
sintering shrinkage in the sintering stage

Forming Processes
The forming process involves a consolidation stage
and an optional machining stage, as shown in the
flow diagram below:

Consolidation techniques used by include uniaxial

pressing, isostatic pressing, slip casting and
extrusion.

*Uniaxial Pressing
Uniaxial or die pressing is a medium to high volume
consolidation method for parts ranging from the simple (for
example discs or plates) to relatively complex (for example
parts with holes or recesses). This shaping method is
inexpensive and suitable for high-volume production of
simple shapes (limited geometrical possibilities). The
uniformity of compaction is not very high.

*Isostatic Pressing
Isostatic pressing is a small to medium volume consolidation
technique of which there are 2 variations: wet-bag pressing
and dry-bag pressing. In both cases a spray dried is contained
in a flexible (usually rubber or polyurethane) bag which is
subjected to an isostatic pressure.
Wet-bag pressing is primarily for simple stock shapes such as
rods whereas dry-bag pressing can produce more complex
shapes such as nozzles.

*Slip Casting
Slip casting, also
known as drain
casting, is a small
to
medium
volume
consolidation
method
for
generally simple
shapes such as
tubes
and
crucibles but also
for more complex
shapes such as
ladles.

*Extrusion
Extrusion is a medium to high
volume consolidation technique
for producing simple shapes
such as small diameter tubes.
The dough feedstock deforms
under pressure and the binders
in the mix help retain the
extruded form as it dries.

Green Machining
Green machining is the machining of an
unfired green or raw body. This needs to be
done when the consolidation method used
cannot produce the required shape. Not only
is green machining quick, it is also cheaper
than diamond grinding and the dust from
the machining process can be collected and
recycled.

Sintering
Sintering is the process during which the
consolidated green ceramic part is fired to give a
dense, advanced technical ceramic. Just before or
during this stage any organic binder additives need
to be removed. This is best done in an air
atmosphere.
During sintering the ceramic is heated to below its
melting point. At high temperatures the fine ceramic
powders
undergo several changes from particle
rearrangement to
grain growth and finally pore
elimination.

Sintering
Ceramics such as silicon nitride are more difficult to densify
and often use sintering mechanism called liquid-phase
sintering. In this case a small volume of additives in the mix
form a liquid at sintering temperatures in which the primary
particles (for example silicon nitride) firstly rearrange due to
capillary forces, giving better packing.
Then at the points of contact between particles some of the
solid particles begin to dissolve in the liquid and are reprecipitated at the neck areas between the particles. Eventually
the pores are eliminated and the ceramic reaches full density

Sintering
Sintering takes place in a different
atmosphere depending on the material
being sintered. For example silicon nitrides
are sintered in a nitrogen atmosphere.
During sintering advanced ceramics typically
shrink approximately 20-25%. It is vitally
important to obtain good, uniform green
density during the forming stage to have a
controlled, uniform shrinkage.

Diamond Grinding
Diamond grinding is a machining process which is carried out on
a sintered part that needs to be tightly tolerance, needs an
improved surface finish or to remove surface flaws and as such is
an optional process.
Final machining processes include grinding, cutting, honing and
lapping and polishing. Each of these processes requires diamond
tooling due to the high hardness of dense advanced ceramics. The
rate of material removal is very slow as care must be taken not to
cause surface damage. These are therefore relatively expensive
processes

Inspection
Inspection is the final stage of the ceramic
manufacturing process and generally involves a
visual inspection of the part and dimensional
inspection to a drawing.
Visual inspection involves looking for cracks or
flaws in the part and to ensure the part is clean.
Dimensional inspection can be done using a
variety of equipment such as Vernier calipers,
micrometers, coordinate measuring machine
(CMM), shadow graph etc.

Application
Automotive
Aerospace
Metal Forming
Mineral Processing
Molten Metal Processing
Oil & Gas
Petrochemical
Semiconductor

*Automotive Engine
Components
Cam Rollers
Fuel Pump
Components
Engine Valves
Check Valves
EGR Valves
Valve Seats
Valve Guides

* Aerospace Applications
Electrical
Insulators
Radomes
Bearings
Seal Rings
Wear Plates

*Oil & Gas Severe

Environments

Logging Tools
Drilling Components
Measuring Wheels
Check Valves
Proprietary Down Hole

* Industrial Wear
Applications

*Molten Metal Processing

Molten Metal
Processing
Melting and Holding
Furnaces
Casting Furnaces
Metal Dosing
Chemical Processing

*Metal working
Rolling
The advantage of silicon nitride in
welding is the improved strength,
thermal shock capability and the
non wetting for sparks created
through the welding process

Welding

Silicon nitride due to its excellent

thermal shock behaviour, high strength,
hardness and toughness shows improved
service time and product
quality in both, at cold and even at hot
rolling with temperatures up to 1050C
in rolling of stainless
steel, titanium and aluminium alloys.

Hazard

Summary
Silicon nitride is a very important
engineering ceramic which is available in
several forms, each with their own unique
properties. These include high strength,
toughness and hardness, excellent wear
resistance, corrosion resistance to many
acids and alkalis and outstanding thermal
shock resistance. These properties are
enabling silicon nitride to find use in many
industrial applications.

References
http://www.ceradyne.com/uploads/Brochures/SiN_Brochure.pdf
http://www2.lbl.gov/ritchie/Library/PDF/ZieglerSi3N4.pdf
https://www.ceramtec.com/ceramic-materials/silicon-nitride/
http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=53
http://www.syalons.com/resources/guides/manufacturing.php
http://www.syalons.com/resources/downloads/manufacturing.pdf
http://www.fcti.de/de/download/AST_Silicon-Nitride-Ceramics-forProduct-and-processInnovations.pdf
http://www.syalons.com/resources/downloads/siliconNitride.pdf
http://accuratus.com/silinit.html
http://www.designinsite.dk/htmsider/p1006.htm
http://www.azom.com/properties.aspx?ArticleID=53
http://accuratus.com/silinit.html