Objective
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Alumina ceramics have an excellent wear cost index and
are therefore used in many applications as wear parts and
abrasive grits. However, these ceramics are fast becoming
unacceptable where higher performance is needed such as
in tooling for extrusion and tube drawing of metals.
Higher performance materials such as ZTA, SiC and Sialons
are now increasingly used in these situations despite the
fact that the materials are too sophisticated for the
application and thus the costs are too high. Therefore,
there is a need to develop successful materials between
the two extremes and a major impact will be achieved by
enhancing the properties of alumina and, at the same
time, maintaining reasonable manufacturing costs.
Recent work on nanocomposite ceramics by the partners in
this proposal clearly shows an improvement of 2 3 times
in reduced wear rate for composites consisting of
nanosize SiC particles dispersed in an alumina matrix,
compared to monolithic alumina. This is believed to be
associated with strengthening of the alumina grain
boundaries so that fracture is essentially
transcrystalline, rather than intercrystalline, which
leads to an increase in the ratio of plastic deformation
to brittle fracture near the surface of the ceramic.
These encouraging results have greatly interested
industrialists who would like to apply the benefits
accrued in nanocomposite technology to technical ceramics
and abrasive grits by substituting existing monolithic
alumina materials with cost effective, higher performance
nanocomposites. The objective of this project is to
develop nanocomposites which can be fabricated by
inexpensive processing (water dispersion, pressureless
sintering) and to only use high pressure gas sintering
for high performance parts.
Building on a previous successful BRITE/EURAM project,
two new studies will be carried out:
- a detailed scientific study of new fabrication
routes based on water processing and pressureless
sintering that would define the most economical process
for industrial fabrication of alumina SiC
nanocomposites. It is anticipated this would lead to
applications for wear parts and improved grinding grits
in the short to medium term after the conclusion of
the project.
- a broadly based study to identify potential
nanophases other than SiC for incorporation into
alumina, the most promising of which will be
characterised and assessed.
These new materials should lead to exploitation
possibilities for a range of industrial sectors in the
medium term. The new materials will be tested for wear
resistance under laboratory conditions and in industrial
applications. The modeling of the results of wear
behaviour and other materials properties and their
relationships with processing conditions will allow each
processing step to be improved and optimised to achieve
high performance materials with moderate manufacturing
costs.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds
- engineering and technology materials engineering composites
- engineering and technology materials engineering ceramics
- engineering and technology materials engineering nanocomposites
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
61 Limerick
Ireland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.