MSE 317

Ceramic & Glass Engineering

Lecture 1(a)
Introduction , Classification
Ref. Materials Science and Engineering an introduction’ by William D callister

Jesia Alam
Lecturer, Dept of MME
CUET
Introduction
• Ceramic materials are inorganic materials consisting of metallic and non-metallic
elements chemically bonded together to form complex compounds. They are usually
ionic or covalently-bonded materials, and can be crystalline or amorphous.

Important examples:
• Silica - silicon dioxide (SiO2), the main ingredient in most glass products
• Alumina - aluminum oxide (Al2O3), used in various applications from abrasives to
artificial bones
• More complex compounds such as hydrous aluminum silicate (Al2Si2O5(OH)4), the
main ingredient in most clay products
Other common ceramic materials include silicon carbide (SiC), silicon nitride (Si 3N4).
Properties of Ceramic

▪ High hardness, (high strength, stiffness, wear resistance)

▪ Brittle, Low ductility or malleability i.e. low plasticity,
▪ Electrical and thermal insulating,
▪ Chemical stability, and high melting temperatures
▪ Some ceramics are translucent, window glass (based on silica).
▪ Lower density than most metals,
▪ Low resistance to fracture, highly resistant to compressive loads.
▪ Corrosion resistance
▪ At extremely low temperature, exhibit superconductivity.
▪ Due to high resistance to heat, application in furnace linings.
▪ Ceramics are often used as protective coatings to other materials.
▪ With regard to optical characteristics, ceramics may be transparent, translucent, or
opaque. and some of the oxide ceramics (e.g., Fe3O4) exhibit magnetic behavior.
 Stiffness : With regard to mechanical behavior, ceramic materials are relatively stiff .

Stiffness : also known as rigidity, refers to its resistance to deformation under an applied force or inability to
move.
 Strength: Stiffnesses and strengths are comparable to those of the metals.

Strength refers to a material's ability to withstand stress before breaking or permanent deformation,
Resistance o fracture : Ceramics have exhibited extreme brittleness (lack of ductility) and are
highly susceptible to fracture .
Electrical Behaviour: Ceramics have low electrical conductivity because their atoms are held together by strong
ionic or covalent bonds, which don't allow for the free movement of electrons necessary for electrical conduction
Applications of Ceramics
▪ Electrical Ceramics, insulators, electrical devices, Superconductors.
▪ Coatings, Biocompatible coatings (fusion to bone), Self-lubricating bearings
▪ Abrasives
▪ Piezoelectric materials are lead zirconate titanate and barium titanate.
▪ Design of high-frequency loudspeakers, Transducers for sonar, and
▪ Actuators for atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopes.
▪ Semiconducting ceramics are also employed as gas sensors.
▪ Corrosion resistant applications, Windows, Television screens,
▪ Magnetic materials (audio/video tapes, disks, etc.), Magnets.
▪ Ceramic fiber, graphite and aluminum oxide, fiber-reinforced composites
▪ Pottery, clay, glasses, vitreous enamels, and Cutting tools.
▪ Chemically Bonded Ceramics (e.g. cement and concrete)
▪ Structural Ceramics, Whitewares (e.g. porcelains),
▪ Engineering ceramics
Classification of Ceramic
1. Glasses
• No long range , periodic atomic arrangement.
• Organic or inorganic.
• Hard & Brittle.
• Have no sharp melting point.
• Exhibits glass transition temperature (Tg).
Above Tg glass exhibits properties of liquid and
below Tg, it retains liquid structure in rigid
form. Any materials that exhibit glass
transformation behavior is called glass.

• Transition Temperature : the temperature at

which an amorphous glass changes from a
hard/glassy state to a soft/rubbery state, or vice
versa.
✔ As already mentioned, glasses are noncrystalline silicates containing other oxides, notably CaO,
Na2O, K2O, and Al2O3, which influence the glass properties.
 Glass-Ceramic

• Most inorganic glasses can be made to transform from a noncrystalline state into one that
is crystalline by the proper high-temperature heat treatment. This process is called
crystallization, and the product is a fine-grained polycrystalline material that is often
called a glass-ceramic.
• The formation of these small glass-ceramic grains is, in a sense, a phase transformation,
which involves nucleation and growth stages. As a consequence, the kinetics (i.e., the
rate) of crystallization may be described using the same principles that were applied to
phase transformations for metal systems.
• This image shows a Continuous-Cooling Transformation (CCT) diagram for the crystallization of a lunar
glass with a specified composition.
• The diagram helps to understand how glass transitions into a glass-ceramic or remains as glass based on
the cooling rate.
Curve 1: This curve intersects the upper crystallization curve, meaning crystallization begins. If it
continues through the lower curve, the material fully crystallizes into a glass-ceramic.
Curve 2: This curve cools faster and avoids crossing the crystallization start curve. It results in the
material remaining in a glass state because there isn’t enough time for nucleation and growth of
crystals.
- The leftmost vertical curve labeled "Critical cooling rate" represents the minimum cooling rate
required to avoid crystallization. If cooling happens faster than this rate, the material remains
amorphous (glass).
- The region between the two black curves represents the glass-ceramic transformation zone, where
partial crystallization happens.
• A nucleating agent (frequently titanium dioxide) is often added to the glass to promote
crystallization. The presence of a nucleating agent shifts the begin and end transformation
curves to shorter times.
• Glass-ceramic materials have been designed to have the following characteristics:
- Relatively high mechanical strengths
- low coefficients of thermal expansion (to avoid thermal shock)
- good high-temperature capabilities
- good dielectric properties (for electronic packaging applications)
- good biological compatibility.
- Some glass- ceramics may be made optically transparent; others are opaque.
• Glass-ceramics are manufactured commercially under the trade names of Pyroceram,
CorningWare, Cercor, and Vision. The most common uses for these materials are as
ovenware, tableware, oven windows, and range tops—primarily because of their strength
and excellent resistance to thermal shock.
• They also serve as electrical insulators and as substrates for printed circuit boards and are
used for architectural cladding and for heat exchangers and regenerators.
2. Clay products
Clay is a soft, loose, earthy material containing particles with a grain size of less than 4 micrometres
(μm). It forms as a result of the weathering and erosion of rocks containing the mineral group
feldspar (known as the ‘mother of clay’) over vast spans of time.

During weathering, the feldspar content is altered by hydrolysis (reaction with water) to form clay
minerals such as kaolinites (the principal minerals in kaolin clays) and smectites (the principal
minerals in bentonite clays).

Properties
imperviousness to fluids
low conductivity of electricity
chemical inertness
and an ability to be formed into complex shapes
• One of the most widely used ceramic raw materials is clay. This inexpensive ingredient, found
naturally in great abundance, often is used as mined without any upgrading of quality.
• The formed piece is dried to remove some of the moisture, after which it is fired at an elevated
temperature to improve its mechanical strength.
• Most clay-based products fall within two broad classifications: the structural clay products and
whitewares.
• Structural clay products include building bricks, tiles, and sewer pipes—applications in
which structural integrity is important.
• Whiteware ceramics become white after high-temperature firing. Included in this group are
porcelain, pottery, tableware, china, and plumbing fixtures (sanitary ware)
3. Refractories
▪ Refractories are inorganic nonmetallic material which can withstand high temperature
without undergoing physico-chemical changes while remaining in contact with molten
slag, metal and gases.
Refractories
- Withstand high temperatures and sudden changes
- Withstand action of molten slag, glass, hot gases etc
- Withstand load at service conditions
- Withstand abrasive forces
- Conserve heat
- Have low coefficient of thermal expansion
- Will not contaminate the load (Chemically Inert)
linings for furnaces and smelters that refine steel,
Refractory walls of a furnace interior
aluminum, and copper, as well as other metals;
with burner blocks
❑ Most common refractories are made from natural materials—for example refractory oxides such as
SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, CaO, Cr2O3, and ZrO2.
❑ On the basis of composition, there are two general classifications
- clay and
- nonclay.
 Clay Refractories
• The clay refractories are subclassified into two
categories:
- fireclay and high-alumina.
• The primary ingredients for the fireclay refractories
are high-purity fireclays, alumina and silica
mixtures usually containing between 25 and 45
wt% alumina.
• According to the SiO2–Al2O3 phase diagram, over
this composition range the highest temperature
possible without the formation of a liquid phase is
1587°C (2890°F).
• Below this temperature, the equilibrium phases
present are mullite and silica (cristobalite).
• During refractory service use, the presence of a
small amount of a liquid phase may be allowable
without compromising mechanical integrity. Above
1587°C, the fraction of liquid phase present
depends on refractory composition.
 • Upon Consideration of the SiO2–Al2O3
phase diagram, for the following pair of
compositions which would you judge to
be more desireable refractory?
a) 80 wt % SiO2– 20 wt % Al2O3
b) 75 wt % SiO2– 25 wt % Al2O3

Note : Upgrading the alumina content increases

the maximum service temperature, allowing for
the formation of a small amount of liquid.
 Nonclay Refractories
• Raw materials for nonclay refractories are other than clay minerals. Refractories included in
this group are Silica, basic , special refractories.

Silica Refractories:
• The prime ingredient for silica refractories, sometimes termed acid refractories, is silica.
• high-temperature load-bearing capacity, are commonly used in the arched roofs of steel- and
glass-making furnaces; temperatures as high as 1650°C (3000°F) may be realized.
• The presence of even small concentrations of alumina has an adverse influence on the
performance of these refractories,
• Because the eutectic composition (7.7 wt% Al2O3) is very near the silica extremity of the
phase diagram, even small additions of Al2O3 lower the liquidus temperature significantly,
which means that substantial amounts of liquid may be present at temperatures in excess of
1600°C (2910°F). Thus, the alumina content should be held to a minimum, normally to
between 0.2 and 1.0 wt%.
 • These refractory materials also exhibit resistance to silica-rich slags, known as acid slags.
However, they are easily corroded by slags with high levels of CaO and/or MgO (basic
slags), so contact with these oxides should be prevented.

Basic Refractories
• Refractories that are rich in periclase (the mineral form of magnesia, MgO), chrome ore, and
mixtures of these two minerals are termed basic, they may also contain calcium and iron
compounds.
• Basic refractories are especially resistant to attack by slags containing high concentrations of
MgO
• used in the steel-making basic oxygen process (BOP) and electric arc furnaces.
 Other Nonclay refractories :
Extra high alumina refractories
- have high concentrations of alumina between 87.5 and 99+ wt%.
- These materials can be exposed to temperatures in excess of 1800°C without experiencing the
formation of a liquid phase; in addition, they are highly resistant to thermal shock.
- in glass furnaces, ferrous foundries, waste incinerators, and ceramic kiln linings.

Mineral zircon, or zirconium silicate (ZrO2∙SiO2) :

- Zircon’s most outstanding refractory characteristic is its resistance to corrosion by molten
glasses at high temperatures.
- has a relatively high mechanical strength and is resistant to thermal shock and creep.
- Its most common application is in the construction of glass-melting furnaces.
Special Refractories

• Silicon carbide (SiC), another refractory ceramic, is produced by a process called reaction
bonding
• reacting sand and coke in an electric furnace at an elevated temperature (between 2200°C and
2480°C). Sand is the source of silicon and coke the source of carbon.
• The high-temperature load-bearing characteristics of SiC are excellent
• it has an exceptionally high thermal conductivity, and it is very resistant to thermal shock that
can result from rapid temperature changes.
• The primary use of SiC is for kiln furniture to support and separate ceramic pieces that are
being fired.
 Abrasives
• Abrasive ceramics are used to wear, grind, or cut away other material, which
necessarily is softer.
• The abrasive action occurs by rubbing , under pressure, against the surface to be
abraded, which surface is worn away.
• The prime requisite for this group of materials is hardness or wear resistance;
• most abrasive materials have a Mohs hardness of at least 7.
• high degree of toughness is essential to ensure that the abrasive particles do not easily
fracture.
• applications -- include grinding, polishing, lapping, drilling, cutting, sharpening,
buffing, and sanding.
 Abrasives
• Abrasive materials are sometimes classified
- naturally occurring (minerals that are mined)
- manufactured (created by a manufacturing process)
• Naturally occurring abrasives include the following: diamond, corundum (aluminum oxide),
emery (impure corundum), garnet, calcite (calcium carbonate), pumice, rouge (an iron oxide), and
sand.
• Manufactured category : diamond, corundum, borazon (cubic boron nitride or CBN),
carborundum (silicon carbide), zirconia–alumina, and boron carbide.

• Those extremely hard manufactured abrasives (e.g., diamond, borazon, and boron carbide) are
sometimes termed superabrasives.
Abrasives
Several factors influence the rate of surface removal and the abraded surface smoothness.
These include the following:
1. Difference in hardness between abrasive and work-piece to be ground/polished. The
greater this difference, the faster and deeper the cutting action.
2. Grain size : the larger (coarser) the grains, the more rapid the abrasion and the rougher the
ground surface. Abrasive media containing small (fine) grains are used to produce smooth
and highly polished work-piece surfaces.
Furthermore, all abrasive media consist of a distribution of grain (particle) sizes. Average
particle size for abrasives ranges between about 1 μm and 2 mm (2000 μm) for fine and
coarse grains, respectively.
3. Contact force created between abrasive and work-piece surface; the higher this force, the
faster the rate of abrasion.

❑ Abrasives are used in three forms—as bonded abrasives, coated abrasives, and loose
grains.
Thank you