Exploring Advanced Ceramic Materials - Carbide-Based Ceramics

Introduction

Ceramic materials are inorganic materials composed of nonmetallic and metallic elements. For ages, these materials have been useful for various purposes, ranging from making kitchen utensils, glass, toilets, and other advanced modern products in use today.

In this article, we will examine advanced ceramic materials and their types, characteristics, and applications in today’s world.

Characteristics of Ceramic Materials

Ceramics are hard, crystalline, and glassy materials that don’t react to chemicals. They are often hardened when exposed to heat (high temperature). They can also be turned into glass, making them insoluble in water, although some may tend to have a water-absorbing capacity. Ceramic materials are composed of clay, bricks, oxides, and other important compounds that make them hard and heat resistant.

The type of substance used and the ratio of their mixture depends on what type of ceramic product is being made and the properties the manufacturer intends it to have. While some ceramic materials are purely clay, some others are a mixture of oxides like carbide, silica, feldspar, etc. In ceramics production, these materials are properly mixed at the right ratios, and then the desired ceramic body material is moulded out before they are put inside a kiln with moderate temperatures for heating and subsequent completion. Some characteristics of ceramic materials that make them of high value, especially in the production process, are

• Hardness and brittle nature

• Strong resistance to wear and tear

• Chemical inert and stable

• Notable resistance to oxidation

• Good electrical and thermal insulating capacities

• Good refractory materials

Types Of Ceramic Materials

There are two major types of ceramic materials: traditional ceramic materials and advanced ceramic materials.

Traditional ceramic materials are simply pottery equipment like cups, mugs, vases, bowls, or anything made from clay. Advanced ceramics materials, on the other hand, deal with modern-day ceramics made from oxides or hard materials like feldspar, tungsten carbide, etc

Let’s  dive a bit more into advanced ceramic materials:

What Are Advanced Ceramic Materials

Advanced ceramics are modern-day ceramic materials that are, in most cases, artificially produced by a mixture of natural earthen elements and synthetic materials like aluminum oxide, silicon nitride, silica, and silicon carbides. These all have good mechanical and chemical properties. Today, so many of them are available, such as hexagon boron nitride, silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, and some others, making ceramic body material very hard and resistant to heat. These materials all undergo processing in order to arrive at the final advanced ceramic products.

However, the processing and production process involves selecting the best available method for production, which is either the CNC Machining or 3D Printing.

Properties of Advanced Ceramics Materials

The properties of advanced ceramic materials that have made them desirable and indispensable in so many sectors and industries are their hard, tough surfaces; refractory capacity; excellent resistance to high temperatures; resistance to corrosion, chemical attack, wear and tear; and very good compressive strength and electrical insulation.

Types of Advanced Ceramic Materials

There are different types of advanced ceramic materials:

1. Silica

Silica is known as one of the modern ceramics with very high resistance to heat. It’s mostly used in the production of cores and investment casting shells.

2. Carbide Ceramics

If you are looking to get a modern ceramic body material with impressive strength and thermal resistance, then carbide ceramics is one of the advanced ceramic materials you should consider. They are primarily made from the addition of carbon, its fibers, and graphene (one of the earth’s hardest materials).

Carbide Ceramics have one of the best blends of durability, abrasiveness, low thermal expansion, chemical resistance, and thermal conductivity. Carbide ceramics, in the form of Silicon Carbide, are also known as the hardest ceramic material available. They are resistant to heat and corrosion and are very abrasive. Space Engineering, Chemical, and Mechanical Engineering firms all thrive well as a result of carbide ceramics.

The three main carbide ceramics examples are silicon, titanium, and tungsten carbide ceramics. They are all employed in the production of arms and ammunition, recreational equipment, and many other hard surface materials.

3. Firebricks

These are bricks made from the heating of earthen elements like sand and clay. They tend to be very durable and are among the hardest ceramic materials, brittle in nature, and can notably withstand very high temperatures.

4. Bone China

This is a type of advanced ceramic material made with bone ash as a key ingredient. Though it’s not known to be inorganic, it contains properties like chip resistance and translucency, making it very useful as a modern ceramic material. In Britain, it emerged early in the 18th century as a great innovation that rapidly grew the exportation industry of Britain.

Applications of Advanced Ceramics Materials

Electronics Industry

The addition of very hard materials like carbide and silica in the production of modern ceramic materials has made them more useful to the electronics industry. These advanced ceramic materials possess properties making them superconducting, semiconducting, and magnetic.

With that, they can be used to produce hard materials like spark plugs, ceramic arc tubes, beads, and tubing for power lines. They can also be used to produce electronic panels, ultrasonic transducers, and Light Emitting Diode (LED) interior and exterior.

Iron and Steel Industry

Refractory materials like ladles, kilns, furnaces, linings on melting surfaces, and pipes that transmit hot gases are all a product of advanced ceramic materials. These are ceramic examples with high refractory,  with the capacity to work under temperatures greater than 1000°C.

Aerospace Industry

Advanced ceramics materials possess several vital properties that make them suitable for applications in the aerospace and automobile industries. They can be employed in the production of very hard surface automotive parts like exhausts, engines, brakes, armors, etc., due to their high thermal resistance and high resistance to corrosion. Although carbide ceramics are the hardest ceramic materials, they have a lighter weight compared to metals, which makes them faster and, in turn, reduces the payload and fuel consumption.

Global Market Trends

Currently, the advanced ceramics market has developed rapidly, growing at an annual rate of over 10%, with leading world economies like the United States and Japan championing the course of this vital technological tool. Thanks to advanced ceramics, the electronics industry is worth over $4.3 trillion today. Recent studies have shown that over $30 billion has emerged from global sales because advanced ceramic materials have displayed how crucial they are in making very hard equipment resistant to wear, heat, and temperature.

Here at ggsceramics, we prioritize the provision of top-quality advanced ceramic products with a very high standard for a wide range of applications. We are always here to assist you with your next ceramics project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Ceramics and Pottery?

Both terms are often mistaken and used interchangeably, but they don’t mean the same thing. Pottery refers to traditional ceramics like pots, cups, mugs, and vases; ceramics is the parent term used to describe them. Therefore, pottery is clearly one of the very many ceramic examples or subdivisions.

What differentiates a gas kiln from an electric kiln?

Due to their ease of use and configuration, electric kilns tend to be used more in home settings and in simple working environments. This is simply because they can efficiently make use of low and mild temperature clay; on the other hand, high temperatures are the major hallmarks of gas kilns.

Also, gas kilns tend to give better surface textures to some of the hardest ceramic materials available than electric kilns, which don’t need special permits to function optimally.

What are some of the best advanced ceramic materials to use in manufacturing?

Some of the best advanced ceramic materials you can make use of are boron nitride, tungsten carbide, and silicon carbide. This is because they possess very strong ceramic body material, including mechanical properties like high thermal resistivity and good durability even under unfavourable conditions.

Conclusion

Comprising different types such as carbide ceramic, silica, and firebricks, it is no doubt that advanced ceramics have changed the game in numerous industries by providing materials that are both durable and aesthetically appealing. You can’t go wrong when you invest in advanced ceramic because when it’s used, you are guaranteed to produce products that will stand the test of time and deliver under unfavorable conditions.