Objective
Engineering ceramics are often the best choice of materials at elevated temperatures because of their intrinsic high-temperature strength and hardness. However, non-oxide ceramics can be subject to oxidation or corrosive attack, which is of enormous interest under long-term, high-temperature service conditions. Therefore, research and development efforts to exploit these materials have high priority throughout the industrial world.
The purpose of this project is to investigate systematically the corrosion of ceramics in order to achieve a significant increase in materials capability. A detailed understanding of the corrosion mechanisms and the rates of transformation of the major phases in these ceramic materials is the starting point for designing useful materials and components for corrosive environments. Since non-oxide ceramics are thermodynamically unstable in oxidising environments, their survival depends largely on the existence of protective oxide layers.
Particular emphasis will be put on the corrosion of non-oxide structural ceramics (monolithic and composites), mainly by hot gases (air, oxygen, and carbon, sulphur, water vapour-containing atmospheres) but also by liquid metals, molten salts, and high-temperature, high-pressure water.
Efforts will be directed towards understanding the influence of the nature and the amount of residual porosity or intergranular phases on the oxidation resistance and strength retention of these materials at high temperatures. The use of protective coatings and surface treatments, e.g. ion bombardment, will also be studied as it is often more economical to apply a thin coating possessing the desired surface characteristics (corrosion, oxidation, or wear resistance) to the substrate rather than to fabricate the entire component from a costly or difficult sintering technique.
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
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87060 Limoges
France