A recently produced ceramic is likely to replace metals used for various purposes and increase efficiency
Researchers from
Calcutta have
managed to develop a
new
ceramic that boasts
of properties which could
ultimately
mean the replacement
of conventional metallic parts
used in
refractories and
engines.
The material which is
called
'sialon' ceramic', has
been developed by a team of
scientists led by
Siddartha
Bandopadhyay from the
Calcutta-based
Central Glass and
Ceramics Research
Institute using
- such as clay - as
the starting
material and a novel
sintering
technique.
The researchers claim
that the
sialon ceramic has
superior
mechanical, chemical
and thermal
properties when
compared
with the conventional
materials. It
can actually replace
the conventional metallic parts
found in gas
turbines and internal
combustion
engines. If used in
wear-resistant
materials, it is
likely to improve
afficiency.
The scientists began
by using
different
compositions of the
starting materials -
aluminium and silicon nitrides and
aluminium oxide
- to prepare
different phases with
varying degrees of
hardness. The
material was prepared
using a new
sintering technique
that consolidated the starting
material from
their initial powder
state to a
dense form.
Bandopadhyay says the
sintering was done under
vapour conditions, without using
any external
sintering tool. The
discovery of this
new material has won
for
Bandopadhyay this
year's Young
Scientist Award under
the aegis
of the Council of
Scientific and
Industrial Research.
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