Determining anisotropy and the artificial structural properties in plastic ceramic bodies

Glass and Ceramics -     

Improved green strength of ceramic bodies through extrusion using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose as binder

Different amounts of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and starch in the form of powder were utilized as binder in the extrusion of silicon nitride green bodies. Their three-point flexural strength and microstructure of fracture surface are investigated. It is found that HPMC can markedly improve the green strength compared with the use of starch. The bending strength with 10% HPMC addition is 29.3 ± 3.1 MPa, which is approximately 7.5 times that of starch counterpart. The dramatic improvement of strength can be attributed to the rough fiber-like HPMC particles, which were aligned along the direction of extrusion and were pulled out during bending tests. This work represents a step towards a simple but effective way to extrude high-strength ceramic green bodies.     

Characterization of zirconia specimens fabricated by ceramic on-demand extrusion

The Ceramic On-Demand Extrusion (CODE) process is a novel additive manufacturing method for fabricating dense (~99% of theoretical density) ceramic components from aqueous, high solids loading pastes (>50?vol%). In this study, 3?mol% Y₂O₃ stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) specimens were fabricated using the CODE process. The specimens were then dried in a humidity-controlled environmental chamber and afterwards sintered under atmospheric conditions. Mechanical properties of the sintered specimens were examined using ASTM standard test techniques, including density, Young’s modulus, flexural strength, Weibull modulus, fracture toughness, and Vickers hardness. The microstructure was analyzed and grain size measured using scanning electron microscopy. The results were compared with those from Direct Inkjet Printing, Selective Laser Sintering, Lithography-based Ceramic Manufacturing (LCM), and other extrusion-based processes, and indicated that zirconia specimens produced by CODE exhibit superior mechanical properties among the additive manufacturing processes. Several sample components were produced to demonstrate CODE’s capability for fabricating geometrically complex ceramic components. The surface roughness of these components was also examined.     

New method of feeding coal: continuous extrusion of fully plastic coal

Continuous feeding of coal in a compressing screw extruder is described as a method of introducing coal into pressurized systems. The method utilizes the property of many bituminous coals of softening at temperatures from 350 to 400 ° C. Coal is then fed much in the manner of common thermoplastics, using screw extruders. Preliminary results show that coals can be extruded at rates of about 3.3 kg/MJ, similar to those for plastics.     

Ultrasound-assisted extrusion of construction ceramic samples

The conditions for a decrease in friction during ceramic brick production between a mixture and an extruder die under the influence of 20–30 kHz ultrasound applied to the die are calculated. An optimum design of a die used to mold 30 mm diameter cylindrical samples with a resonance in this frequency range is selected using computer modeling. From the results, a titanium die is fabricated and tested on a Verdes–050 (Spain) laboratory extruder using an ultrasonic magnetostrictive transducer with a power of 1.5 kW (Inlab-Ultrazvuk, Russia). A 12% reduction in extrusion pressure, a 20% acceleration of molding and a positive influence on the properties of the ceramics were found. The surface of the ceramic samples was covered by craters with diameters of approximately 10 µm due to the boiling of water, and the porosity of the main body of the samples decreased. This technique prevents the undesirable rapid drying of the surface when the samples exit the die and stabilizes the strength of the fired samples. The color remained unchanged, the water absorption decreased, the density, strength and resistance to frost increased. Ultrasonic extrusion increased the accuracy of the strength tests of construction ceramics, indicating the prospect of ultrasonic die development for industrial extruders for bricks, facing tiles and roof tiles.     

Influencing factors on the performance of tubular ceramic membrane supports prepared by extrusion

Inorganic ceramic membrane has the advantages of excellent thermal stability, mechanical strength, chemical resistance and fouling resistance. And it has been widely studied and applied in flue gas moisture recovery, gas purification and wastewater treatment. The support is the basis of preparation and application of inorganic ceramic membrane, and its performance determines the performance of the ceramic membrane to a certain extent. At present, extrusion is a common method used in the ceramic industry to prepare supports, which has the advantages of high production efficiency and good product uniformity. In this paper, the processes of preparing support by extrusion including mixing, vacuum pugging, aging, extruding and sintering are introduced in detail. In preparing support by extrusion, the product performance is easily affected by many factors, including the type of raw materials, raw material particles, extrusion parameters, pore-forming agents, sintering temperature, and sintering aids. Therefore, this paper also conducts a comparative and comprehensive study on the process parameters and influencing factors in the process of preparing ceramic membrane support by extrusion to obtain the support with the best performance. The main influencing factors that this paper focuses on are the types of raw materials, powder particles, water content, pore-forming agents, binders, sintering temperature, and sintering aids. The trends and mechanisms of these factors affecting the performance of the support are analyzed in detail.     

Single- and dual-phase capillary membranes prepared through plastic extrusion method for oxygen permeation

Two capillary membranes, single-phase Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3-δ (BSCF) and dual-phase 75 wt% Ce_0.85Sm_0.15O_1.925 - 25 wt% Sm_0.6Sr_0.4Cr_0.3Fe_0.7O_3-δ (SDC-SSCF), with dense cross section, were successfully prepared through the plastic extrusion method. The dual-phase capillary membrane shows higher strength compared to the BSCF counterpart, while the two capillary membranes exhibit much higher fracture strength than those of hollow fiber membranes. The oxygen permeation fluxes of both membranes increase with the increase of temperature and flow rate of sweep gas at the ambient pressure, and can be greatly improved by applying high pressures to the feed side. The oxygen permeation flux of BSCF capillary membrane is up to 19.5 mL cm^?2 min^?1 when 0.5 MPa air was applied to the feed side at 900 °C, which is one order of magnitude higher than that of SDC-SSCF capillary membrane. Thus, both capillary membranes have their own advantages and meet applications under different operation conditions.