Ceramic Materials

[017CM]
a.a. 2025/2026

1° Year of course - Second semester

Frequency Not mandatory

  • 6 CFU
  • 48 hours
  • English
  • Trieste
  • Opzionale
  • Oral Exam
  • SSD ING-IND/22
Curricula: Analytics and environment study plan (curr. Analytics and environment)
Syllabus

To understand the possibilities and limits of ceramic materials and their characterization. To understand the probabilistic approach to design.

Knowledge of basic physics, chemistry and materials science.

Kroeger-Vink notation. Quasi-chemical approach to defects population in ceramics. Kroeger-Vink diagrams. Defects energies. Mixing energy and entropy.
Most inportant raw materials for traditional ceramics (clays and feldspars; Physical, chemical and mechanical properties of alumina, zirconia, silicon nitride, silicon carbide and diamond (diamond-like coatins). Industrial preparations, separation and characterization of powders.
Forming of ceramics: uniaxial and isostatic pressing; cold and hot pressing: slip casting, tape casting. Typical composition of slurries for casting.
Preparation of films and coatings: plasma spary, PVD and CVD.
Transport mechanism in solid pahse. Einstein equation on mobility. Sintering stages and modeling of the I stage of sintering. Pore and grain boundaries mobility. Liquid phase sintering. Secondary, abnormal grain growth.
Functional ceramics; perovskitic structure. Ferroelectricity, piezo-electricity and piro-electricity. Ceramics for optical devices: PLZT. Kerr and Pockel effects.
Characterization of mechanical properties: Modulus of rupture in bending; fracture toughness determined by indentations and by indentation strength in bending (ISB).
Empirical, deterministic and probabilistic design. Weibull distribution. Determination of the Weibull modulus from a set of MOR data. Mixed approaches to design: Weibull modulus and Fnite Element Analysis.

1)Introduction to ceramics. Kingery et al. Wiley
2) Modern ceramic engineering. Richerson, CRC.
3) Ceramic Materials, Norton and Carter, Springer

Kroeger-Vink notation. Quasi-chemical approach to defects population in ceramics. Kroeger-Vink diagrams. Defects energies. Mixing energy and entropy.
Most inportant raw materials for traditional ceramics (clays and feldspars; Physical, chemical and mechanical properties of alumina, zirconia, silicon nitride, silicon carbide and diamond (diamond-like coatins). Industrial preparations, separation and characterization of powders.
Forming of ceramics: uniaxial and isostatic pressing; cold and hot pressing: slip casting, tape casting. Typical composition of slurries for casting.
Preparation of films and coatings: plasma spary, PVD and CVD.
Transport mechanism in solid pahse. Einstein equation on mobility. Sintering stages and modeling of the I stage of sintering. Pore and grain boundaries mobility. Liquid phase sintering. Secondary, abnormal grain growth.
Functional ceramics; perovskitic structure. Ferroelectricity, piezo-electricity and piro-electricity. Ceramics for optical devices: PLZT. Kerr and Pockel effects.
Characterization of mechanical properties: Modulus of rupture in bending; fracture toughness determined by indentations and by indentation strength in bending (ISB).
Empirical, deterministic and probabilistic design. Weibull distribution. Determination of the Weibull modulus from a set of MOR data. Mixed approaches to design: Weibull modulus and Fnite Element Analysis.

Class lectures, 2 laboratories (spectroscopy and determination of the Weibull modulus).

Grading criteria (expressed out of a maximum of 30/30)

-Excellent (30 - 30 cum laude.

-Very good (27-29)

-Good (24-26)

-Fair (21-23)

-Sufficient (18-20).

-Failed (<18).

the student can choose between 2 exam formats:
-) oral exam concerning the whole course content;
-) presentation of a term paper, stuctured as a scientific publication, concening any topic of interest of the student, within the field of ceramics.

Changes may be introduced due to the COVID-19 emergency.

IEducation od high quality

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