Ceramics Getting Stronger?
BY JOHN MCCORMICK, MARCH 15, 2006
Developments in ceramics has always been of great interest to participants in our industry. We thought we would alert you to this article in Wired Magazine that summarized some recent findings in ceramic technology.
In essence, scientists are finding that the physics of ice crystals can be utilized to form vastly stronger ceramic composites. By controlling the freezing process complex structures are becoming available with numerous applications from aircraft parts to artificial bone.
Why does strengthening ceramics matter? Ceramic implants can last longer than conventional metal and plastic implants so it is an attractive material, but ceramic weakens as it gets smaller, for example when trying to mimic the matrixlike structure of cancellous bone.
According to the Wired article, the Berkeley team has been experimenting with freezing mixtures of water and various materials including hydroxyapotite and applying a layering method. By increasing the speed of the freezing process the layers' thickness can be decreased.
Layering is the key to strength and if you get thin layers, you can build complex structures that are small but amazingly strong. As wonderful as it sounds, we question the cost effectiveness of such layering processes at this point. As far back as fifteen years ago, the press was bubbling about "atomscopic materials" where metals and ceramic were going to be layered and the world was going to change. So far we haven't heard a peep about atomscopic cars and planes, but we are still all ears.
