Ceramics
Ceramics
Greek word “keramikos” – burnt stuff –
normally achieved through high-
temperature heat treatment called firing
Others also say it came from the word
“keramos” – potters clay
Ceramic
When it comes to composition, ceramics are…
Compounds consisting of metals,
covalently bonded to oxygen,
nitrogen, or carbon.
Ceramic
When it comes to application, ceramics are…
Used for high-temperature
applications, abrasives, glasses, and
pottery.
Ceramic
When it comes to properties, ceramics are…
Hard, brittle, strong, non-
conducting, corrosion-resistant and
heat-resistant materials.
Ceramic
When it comes to processing, ceramics are…
made by shaping and firing an
inorganic, non-metallic material such
as clay and other compounds
consisting of metals and non-metals.
The
Firing
Process
of
Making
Pottery
Types of Ceramics
1. Traditional Ceramics
2. Modern or Advanced Ceramics
Traditional Ceramics
The primary raw material is
clay, quartz and sand.
1. Earthenware
2. Stoneware
3. Porcelain
Earthenware
• ceramic ware made of
slightly porous opaque clay
fired at low heat
• Fired below 1,200 Celcius
• Basic earthenware is
terracotta clay
• Flower pots, tiles, bricks,
surface, waste water pipes
Terracota clay
Stoneware
• Harder and denser than
earthenware and fired at
higher temperatures
• Between 2150 – 2330 Celcius
• Durable, nonporous, and
robust.
• Has vitreous material added
Porcelain
• Made of kaolin (china clay),
kaolin, feldspar, quartz and
clay
• Nonporous, white, translucent,
hard, shiny finish
• Decorated, making it more
expensive than stoneware
Advanced Ceramics
Made using synthetic
powders, such as
aluminum oxide, silicon
carbide, silicon nitride,
and others.
Microelectromechanical Systems Application: Sensors
Application:
organic solar cells, long-life batteries, high
temperature, superconductors, molecular
magnets, bio material (artificial skin,
engineered tissues), body armor, and
structural applications
Nanocarbons
New desalination
process uses carbon
nanotubes to filter salt
from seawater
Japanese
Company
Plans to
Build Space
Elevator by
2050 made
of
nanocarbon
materials
Processing of
Ceramics
Processing of Traditional Ceramics
Two Types of Shaping Techniques
Slip Casting
Hydro plastic Forming
Common in making: brick, pipe, ceramic Common in making sanitary lavatory ware,
blocks, and tiles art objects, ceramic tubes
Properties of
Ceramics
Properties
• Great hardness and strength
• Chemical stability/chemical inertness (corrosion resistant, unreactive
with another chemical)
• High-temperature strength (strength retention at very high
temperatures)
• High melting points (they’re heat resistant)
• Low electrical and thermal conductivity (they’re good insulators)
• good optical properties
Applications and
Processing of Ceramics
Glasses
containing other oxides, notably CaO, Na2O, K2O, and
Al2O3,
Applications:
containers, lenses, and
fiberglass, soda lime
glass (SiO2, Na2O, CaO)
Soda lime glass
Main Types of Glasses
Annealed Glass
- it is the simplest and basic
form of glass. It is also known
as float glass since it is formed
from the annealing stage of the
float process.
Main Types of Glasses
Semi-Strengthened Glass
- it is a semi-tough glass that is
used to provide extra
toughness to resist thermal
stress or wind pressure.
- Twice as tough as annealed
glass
Main Types of Glasses
Toughened Glass
- known as tempered glass and
is tough in nature.
- When the glass breaks, it
forms small granular chunks
like square fragments which
are hazardous and can cause
injuries.
Main Types of Glasses
Laminated Glass
- common type of glass which
features two sheets of glass
with a plastic interlayer
separating them.
- It is widely used in the
automotive industry for the
manufacture of vehicles.
Glasses-Ceramics
Transform from a non-crystalline state into one that is
crystalline by the proper high-temperature heat treatment
- crystallization
Application: ovenware,
tableware, oven windows, and
range tops, electrical insulators
for printed circuit boards
Clay Product
widely used ceramic raw materials, very amenable to
shaping.
Two classifications:
• Structural clay products – bricks, tiles, sewer pipes
• Whitewares – become white after high-temperature
firing.
Ex. Porcelain, Sanitary ware, tableware,
Structural Clay
Application
Clay Bricks Roof Bricks
Clay Floor Tiles
Whitewares
Made of kaolin clay
Porcelain
Sanitary Ware
Pottery China Ware Tableware
Refractories
• capacity to withstand high temperatures without
melting
• remain unreactive and inert when exposed to severe
environments.
• provide thermal insulation
Application: furnace linings for metal refining, glass
manufacturing, metallurgical heat treatment, and power
generation
Examples of Refractories Application
Furnace in glassblowing
Crucible in metal casting
Abrasives
• used to wear, grind, or cut away other material, which
necessarily is softer
• Hard and has high degree of toughness
Examples: Diamonds, Grinding wheels, sandpaper
Examples of Abrasives
Grinding Wheels
Sandpaper
Cements
• when mixed with water, they form a paste that
subsequently sets and hardens.
• Cement, plaster of Paris, and limestones
• Portland Cement - hydraulic cement
• Calcination
- process grinding and intimately mixing clay
and lime bearing minerals in the proper
proportions and then heating the mixture to
about 1400C
Carbon
important in many commercial sectors, including some
cutting-edge technologies.
Two allotropic forms of Carbon
Graphite Diamond
Advanced Ceramics
Recyclability
