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Ceramics Testing

Ceramics have traditionally been limited in engineering applications due to their brittleness. However, recent improvements in processing techniques have allowed for higher strength ceramics that can replace metals in some applications. Ceramics are used structurally in applications like bricks and tiles due to their high compressive strength, and in applications like spark plugs and radomes due to properties like electrical conductivity and transparency to electromagnetic waves. Testing ceramics is challenging due to their brittle nature, but new automated testing systems can conduct tests like creep and bend testing at high temperatures.

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Dhedhe Prasetya
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307 views

Ceramics Testing

Ceramics have traditionally been limited in engineering applications due to their brittleness. However, recent improvements in processing techniques have allowed for higher strength ceramics that can replace metals in some applications. Ceramics are used structurally in applications like bricks and tiles due to their high compressive strength, and in applications like spark plugs and radomes due to properties like electrical conductivity and transparency to electromagnetic waves. Testing ceramics is challenging due to their brittle nature, but new automated testing systems can conduct tests like creep and bend testing at high temperatures.

Uploaded by

Dhedhe Prasetya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Ceramics

Although ceramics have been used by man for many centuries, until
recently their applications have been limited by their mechanical properties. Unlike metals, most ceramics
materials do not exhibit a non-linear plastic region before failure. Instead, ceramics are known to be brittle and
fail catastrophically. Their application in engineering applications has certainly been limited by their lack of
toughness.
Applications
eramics are used in a variety of applications!
ompressive strength makes ceramics good structural materials "e.g., bricks in houses, stone blocks in
the pyramids#
$igh voltage insulators and spark plugs are made from ceramics due to its electrical conductivity
properties
%ood thermal insulation has ceramic tiles used in ovens and as exterior tiles on the &huttle orbiter
&ome ceramics are transparent to radar and other electromagnetic waves and are used in radomes and
transmitters
$ardness, abrasion resistance, imperviousness to high temperatures and extremely caustic conditions
allow ceramics to be used in special applications where no other material can be used
hemical inertness makes ceramics ideal for biomedical applications like orthopaedic prostheses and
dental implants
%lass-ceramics, due to their high temperature capabilities, leads to uses in optical e'uipment and fiber
insulation
Ceramics - Typical Properties
It is known that ceramic materials have the potential to achieve mechanical properties e'ual to or better than
most metals. Their limitations have resulted from flaws or micro cracks which led to brittleness. (ecent
improvements in processing techni'ues, however, have maximi)ed the density and minimi)ed flaws so that new
high performance ceramics are now being examined as direct replacements for many metal parts.
An important example of this is the ceramic turbocharger for use in
automotive and gas turbine applications. *eing sub+ect to high temperature exhaust gases and high ,%- forces,
this application is very demanding on the materials used. The high reliability re'uired also adds to the premium it
can command, making it commercially attractive to develop new structural ceramics - such as )irconia ceramics,
silicon nitride and silicon carbide - and new production processes. Ultimately, new ceramic manufacturing
processes may lead to lower cost parts that are lighter and capable of withstanding very high temperatures. The
potential of these new so-called ,fine- ceramics has spawned a tremendous amount of research in the
improvement of monolithic ceramics as well as the development of new ceramic-ceramic composite materials.
Ceramics - Testing Overview
The testing of ceramics has taken a different approach to that of
conventional materials testing. The nature of ceramics makes it extremely difficult to perform a conventional
tensile test. .ithout absolutely perfect alignment, the act of gripping a specimen applies bending that is often
enough to result in failure. /any researchers in the 01234s and 01534s made attempts at direct tension testing
but had limited success or used methods that were too costly and time consuming to be considered worthwhile.
/ost subse'uent testing was conducted using specially shaped specimens "e.g., -ring test# or gripless flexure
testing. (ecently, however, the need for engineering data is growing in con+uction with the development of
structural ceramics.
Read More . . .
eramics 6verview
Typical 7roperties
Testing 6verview
The re'uirements of ceramics testing are 'uite rigorous. Typical environmental re'uirements include
temperatures of 02338 in air, and 99338 in a vacuum: re'uirements in inert gas depend upon its properties.
*oth three- and four-point bend testing are widely accepted, but specimen si)es vary widely from lab to lab and
from country to country. Testing systems must be capable of precise slow-speed control "3.3330 in;min# and are
often re'uired to hold loads for extended periods of time for creep analysis. The need for tension testing, fracture
mechanics, bend testing, even reverse-stress fatigue testing is growing and can only be met by carefully
designed systems that can overcome the challenges facing ceramics. As an example, Instron <=29 &ystems are
used in many research institutes throughout the world, including /assachusetts Institute of Technology and
Institut fur .erkstoffkunde, University of >arlsruhe, to study behavior of ceramics, composites and cermets.
To speed the ceramics development process, Instron has designed a series of automated ceramics test systems
that can perform creep and three- and four-point bend tests. These tests are typically conducted within a furnace
capable of 02=38 in a vacuum with multiple test stations so that once the system is set up, all twelve specimens
are tested automatically. 7recise temperature control is essential, as is the load and strain measurement
accuracy.

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