Unit – 4

Non-metallic materials
(Polymers, Ceramics and Composites)
Engineering Ceramics
 Ceramics
• To be most frequently as oxides, nitrides and
carbides
• Typically insulative to the passage of
electricity and heat
• More resistant to high temperatures and
harsh environments than metals and polymers
• Hard
• but very brittle
 Ceramic products

Glasses Clay Refractories Abrasives Cements Advanced

products ceramics
-optical -whiteware -bricks for -sandpaper -composites engine
-composite -bricks high T -cutting -structural -rotors
reinforce (furnaces) -polishing -valves
-containers/ -bearings
household
-sensors
 Properties of Ceramics
• Extreme hardness
– High wear resistance
• Extreme hardness can reduce wear caused by friction
• Corrosion resistance
• Heat resistance
• Low electrical conductivity
• Low thermal conductivity
• Low thermal expansion
• Poor thermal shock resistance
 Properties of Ceramics
• Low ductility
– Very brittle
– High elastic modulus
• Low toughness
– Low fracture toughness
– Indicates the ability of a crack or flaw to
produce a catastrophic failure
• Low density
– Porosity affects properties
• High strength at elevated temperatures
 Classification of Ceramics
• Oxides:
– Alumina, zirconia
• Non-oxides:
– Carbides, borides, nitrides, silicides
• Composites:
– Particulate reinforced, combinations of oxides and
non-oxides
 Al2O3 ( Alumina)
• Al2O3 is an electrical insulator but has a relatively
high thermal conductivity for a ceramic material.
• Aluminium oxide is insoluble in water.
• In its most commonly occurring crystalline form,
called corundum or α-aluminium oxide, its hardness
makes it suitable for use as an abrasive and as a
component in cutting tools.
• Aluminium oxide is used for its hardness and strength.
• It is widely used as an abrasive, including as a much
less expensive substitute for industrial diamond.
• Many types of sandpaper use aluminium oxide crystals.
 Al2O3( Alumina)
• In addition, its low heat retention and low specific heat make it
widely used in grinding operations, particularly cutoff tools.
• As the powdery abrasive mineral Al oxide, it is a major component,
along with silica, of the cue tip "chalk" used in billiards. [Chalk is applied
to the tip of the cue stick, ideally before every shot, to increase the tip's friction coefficient
so that when it impacts the cue ball on a non-center hit, no miscue (unintentional slippage
between the cue tip and the struck ball) occurs]
• Aluminium oxide powder is used in some CD/DVD polishing and
scratch-repair kits.
• Its polishing qualities are also behind its use in
toothpaste[Abrasives: used to remove plaque and tartar, abrasives give toothpaste their
cleaning power. Abrasives also polish teeth and remove stains. Common abrasives include
alumina, hydrated silica, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, and sodium bicarbonate
(baking soda)].
• Aluminium oxide can be grown as a coating on aluminium
by anodising or by plasma electrolytic oxidation
 Al2O3( Alumina)
• Both its strength and abrasive characteristics
originate from the high hardness (9th place on
the Moh’s scale of mineral hardness) of
aluminium oxide.
• Aluminium oxide flakes are used in paint for
reflective decorative effects, such as in the
automotive or cosmetic industries.
• Health and medical applications include it as a
material in hip replacements.
 SiC (Silicon Carbide)
• Silicon carbide (SiC), also known as carborundum.
• Grains of silicon carbide can be bonded together
by sintering to form very hard ceramics that are widely
used in applications requiring high endurance, such as
car brakes, car clutches and ceramic
plates in bulletproof vests.
• Electronic applications of silicon carbide as light-
emitting diodes (LEDs) and detectors in early radios
were first demonstrated around 1907, and today SiC is
used in semiconductor electronics applications that are
high-temperature, or high-voltage, or both.
 SiC (Silicon Carbide)
• it is used for its hardness in abrasive machining processes
such as grinding, honing, water-jet cutting and
sandblasting.
• Silicon carbide is used in composite armor.
• The low thermal expansion coefficient, high hardness,
rigidity and thermal conductivity make silicon carbide a
desirable mirror material for astronomical telescopes.
• Silicon carbide fibers are used to measure gas temperatures
in an optical technique called thin filament pyrometry.
• Silicon carbide elements are used today in the melting of
glass and non-ferrous metal, heat treatment of
metals, float glass production, production of ceramics and
electronics components, igniters in pilot lights for gas
heaters, etc
 Si3N4 ( Silicon Nitride)
• Potential material for structural applications.
• No loss of strength in air at temperatures to 1000C.
• Greater thermal shock resistance than many other
ceramics.
• Lower thermal expansion
• Better toughness than silicon carbide and aluminum
oxide.
• High chemical and wear resistance
• High fatigue resistance.
• Lower density than other ceramics.
• The disadvantage of Si3N4 is porosity.
 Applications
• Cutting tool material.
• Gas tubine parts
• Material for rolling element bearing applications.
• Balls, rollers, races for bearings.
• Parts of diesel engines
• Hot extrusion dies
• Pump parts
• Rocket engine parts
• Medical – spinal fusion device.
• It is specially recommended for high speed machining of cast iron.
• Face milling of cast iron
• Used in atomic force microscope.
• Silicon nitride is often used as an insulator and chemical barrier in
manufacturing integrated circuits, to electrically isolate different
structures or as an etch mask in bulk micromachining.
 PSZ ( Partially Stabilized Zirconia)
• PSZ is really ZrO2, that has been blended and
sintered with some other oxide such as MgO,
Calcium oxide or Yttria to control the crystal
structure transformation.
• The cubic phase can be stabilized by doping with
MgO, CaO or Y2O3
• The tetragonal - monoclinic phase transformation
involves a 4.7% volume increase.
• This volume increase is the basis for
transformation toughening.
 PSZ - Properties
• Better fracture toughness than other high
performance ceramics.
• Very hard
• Wear resistance also high .
• Tensile strength is better than Alumina.
• Good thermal insulator.
• Thermal expansion is similar to that of steel.
 PSZ - Applications
• Replacement of steels in IC engines.
• die material in the metal industry
• Thermal barrier coatings
• Piston caps
• cutting tools
• Dies and tooling
• Knives, scissors and blades
• Wear resistant components including bearings and
linings
• Pump parts
• Grinding media
 SIALON
• SiAlON ceramics are a specialist class of high-temperature refractory materials, with high

strength (including at high temperature), good thermal shock resistance and exceptional

resistance to wetting or corrosion by molten non-ferrous metals, compared to other

refractory materials such as, for example, alumina.

• SiAlONs are produced by first combining a mixture of raw materials including silicon nitride,

alumina, aluminum nitride, silica and the oxide of a rare earth element such as yttrium.

• The powder mix is fabricated into a 'green' compact by isostatic powder compaction or slip

casting, for example.

• Then the shaped form is then densified, typically by pressure less sintering or hot isostatic

pressing.

• The sintered part may then need to be machined by diamond grinding (abrasive cutting).
 SIALON – Applications
• SiAlON ceramics have found extensive use in non-ferrous molten metal handling,

particularly aluminium and its alloys, including metal feed tubes for aluminum

die casting, burner and immersion heater tubes, injector and degassing for

nonferrous metals, thermocouple protection tubes, crucibles and ladles.

• In metal forming, sialon is used as a cutting tool for machining chill cast iron and

as brazing and welding fixtures and pins, particularly for resistance welding.

• Other applications include in the chemical and process industries and the oil and

gas industries, due to sialon’s excellent chemical stability and corrosion

resistance and wear resistance properties.