SBIR Phase II: A Low Cost Process for Toughening Ceramics

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将开发一种低成本的氧化铝陶瓷增韧工艺。这些材料广泛应用于许多行业的抗磨损、抗腐蚀和电气绝缘应用。然而，由于这些陶瓷的脆性，市场仍然有限。虽然有坚硬的陶瓷，但它们比氧化铝贵6到50倍。第一阶段开发了一种简单的水基渗透工艺，使商用氧化铝陶瓷的断裂韧性提高了25%，而材料成本仅增加了50%。该工艺是在简单断裂韧性试样上进行的。第二阶段将开发一种优化的工艺和材料，该材料具有微观结构和断裂韧性，可以由商业陶瓷制造商轻松廉价地制造。主要目标是生产坚韧，耐损伤陶瓷的工艺，可以用来代替通常脆的陶瓷。预计低成本氧化铝陶瓷韧性的提高将大大扩大工业陶瓷的商业应用。＊＊＊

*** 9801402 Sibold This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a low cost process for toughening alumina ceramics. These materials are widely used in anti-wear, anti-corrosion, and electrical insulation applications in many industries. However, markets remain limited because of the brittleness of these ceramics. While tough ceramics are available, they are six to 50 times more costly than alumina. Phase I developed a simple water-based infiltration process that increased the fracture toughness of a commercial alumina ceramic by as much as 25% with only 50% increase in material cost. The process was performed on simple fracture toughness testing specimens. Phase II will develop an optimized process and material with the microstructure and fracture toughness that can be made easily and inexpensively by a commercial ceramics manufacturer. The primary objective is a production process for tough, damage tolerant ceramics, which can be used in place of normally brittle ceramics. The anticipated increase in toughness of low cost alumina ceramics will significantly expand the commercial applications for technical ceramics. ***