Researchers from Calcutta havemanaged to develop a newceramic that boasts of properties which could ultimatelymean the replacement of conventional metallic parts used inrefractories and engines.
The material which is called'sialon' ceramic', has been developed by a team of scientists led bySiddartha Bandopadhyay from theCalcutta-based Central Glass andCeramics Research Institute using- such as clay - as the startingmaterial and a novel sinteringtechnique.
The researchers claim that thesialon ceramic has superiormechanical, chemical and thermalproperties when comparedwith the conventional materials. Itcan actually replace the conventional metallic parts found in gasturbines and internal combustionengines. If used in wear-resistantmaterials, it is likely to improveafficiency.
The scientists began by usingdifferent compositions of the starting materials - aluminium and silicon nitrides and aluminium oxide- to prepare different phases withvarying degrees of hardness. Thematerial was prepared using a newsintering technique that consolidated the starting material fromtheir initial powder state to adense form.
Bandopadhyay says the sintering was done under vapour conditions, without using any externalsintering tool. The discovery of thisnew material has won forBandopadhyay this year's YoungScientist Award under the aegisof the Council of Scientific andIndustrial Research.