U.S.-Netherlands Cooperative Research: High-Pressure Technology and Synthesis of Advanced Ceramic Materials

该奖项将支持纽约州立大学布法罗分校化学工程系的Vladimir Hlavacek教授和Ir博士之间为期一年的合作研究项目。K. R. Westerterp，荷兰恩斯赫德特文特理工大学。工程师们将合作进行高压技术在先进陶瓷材料加工中的作用的实验和理论研究。他们将研究一种高温、高压、自传播的合成工艺，该工艺将在不使用添加剂的情况下同时提供陶瓷粉末的合成和烧结。这个过程利用高压下强烈放热反应释放热量，并且发生得很快。目前正在研究一种类似的方法，以实现不同陶瓷材料之间以及陶瓷和金属之间的粘合，从而使所得到的粘合材料具有高强度和良好的抗热震性。该过程将在一台超级计算机上对控制参数的典型值进行模拟。这样的模拟应该提供对所调查的各种样品的条件的见解，并指导材料的选择和最佳的实验条件。先进的陶瓷材料具有特殊的性能，使其在从耐热和耐磨部件到电子和光学器件的高性能应用中具有潜在的用途。在某些应用中，其优越的性能可能会降低成本，并且可以替代各种稀缺材料。这里正在研究的程序预计将比这一领域目前的技术更便宜。通过将Hlavacek教授在陶瓷材料合成方面的专业知识与Westerterp教授在高压反应工程方面的经验和资源相结合，工程师们希望显著提高他们在这一领域的研究进展，并比目前Hlavacek教授在布法罗的实验室可能制备的新材料的数量更多。该奖项的资金将用于支持美国首席研究员的交通和生活费用。荷兰政府也通过特文特理工大学为该项目提供支持。

This award will support a one-year cooperative research project between Professor Vladimir Hlavacek, Chemical Engineering Department, State University of New York at Buffalo, and Prof. Dr. Ir. K. R. Westerterp, Twente University of Technology, Enschede, The Netherlands. The engineers will cooperate in an experimental and theoretical examination of the role of high-pressure technology in the processing of advanced ceramic materials. They will carry out research on a high-temperature, high-pressure, self-propagating synthesis process that will simultaneously provide for the synthesis and sintering of ceramic powders without the use of additives. The process utilizes the liberation of heat by a strongly exothermic reaction under high pressure, and takes place quickly. A similar approach is being investigated to achieve bonding between different ceramic materials and between ceramics and metals in such a way that the resulting bonded materials have high strength and good thermal shock resistance. The processes will be simulated on a supercomputer for typical values of the governing parameters. Such simulations should provide insights into conditions within the various samples under investigation, and guide the selection of materials and optimum experimental conditions. Advanced ceramic materials possess specialized properties that make them potentially useful in high-performance applications ranging from heat- and wear-resistant parts to electronic and optical devices. For some applications their superior performance may lead to reduced costs, and they may substitute for a variety of scarce materials. The procedures under study here are expected to be less expensive than current technologies in this area. By combining Professor Hlavacek's expertise in the synthesis of ceramic materials with Professor Westerterp's experience and resources in high-pressure reaction engineering, the engineers expect to enhance their research progress in this field significantly, and to prepare the new materials in larger quantities than is currently possible in Professor Hlavacek's laboratory in Buffalo. Funds from this award would support necessary transportation and subsistence expenses for the U.S. principal investigator. The government of The Netherlands, through the Twente University of Technology, is also providing support for the project.