Ceramics and Brittle Materials (MREN90004)

Students are introduced to ceramics in structural, electronic, magnetic and functional applications. Students are introduced to crystal structures of ceramics, including defects such as vacancies and interstitials. The attributes and features of different classes of ceramics including clays and porcelains, oxides and mixed oxides, carbides, nitrides, borides are presented as well as the attributes and features of glasses, cements and zeolites. The role of flaws in ceramics and brittle materials mechanical behaviour including Weibull statistics and processing defects is explained. Current and developing processing techniques for ceramics including dry pressing, colloidal (wet) powder processing and drying are taught. The science and technology of controlling suspension behaviour such as rheology and particle packing is covered. Sintering, densification and grain growth mechanisms are elucidated. The typical properties of ceramics are presented and explanation is given as to why ceramics have such properties, including, melting temperatures, stiffness, strength, toughness, electrical and magnetic properties and thermal behaviour. How thermal stresses develop is described and why these are important in ceramics is explained. The students are introduced to brittle fracture including Griffith’s approach as well as toughening mechanisms including phase transformation and interlocking grains.