Ceramics are the inorganic compound formed by the combination of metals and non-metals. Silicates, metallic oxides, carbides, hydrides, sulfides, etc are the major constituent of the ceramics. Earlier the term ceramics was applied to products made from natural earth that have been exposed to a higher temperature. Today, the field of ceramics covers a widely diversified group of a product of specialized industries like glass, cement, limes, electronic ceramics.
Type of ceramics
- Traditional Ceramics:- (Clay products)
Clay products include important engineering material such as bricks, tiles porcelain, etc. Clay basically consists of kaolinite (Al2 si2O5(OH)4) - New generation ceramics:– New generation ceramics which gives the plasticity to clay. When all clay is mixed with water at some quantity and shows the plastic behavior and molded to the desired shape. Then they are dried slowly remove the moisture.
a) Refractory: A refractory material may be defined as a nonmetallic material suitable for the constructing of the lining of furnaces. Operated at high temperatures such material must be chemically and physically stable at high temperatures. These materials consist of high melting oxides or a combination of oxides of silica, aluminum, magnesium, calcium, etc. these are used in high-temperature furnaces, gas turbines, missiles, nuclear reactor, etc.
b) Glass: The glass can be defined as an inorganic product at fusion that has been cooled to rigid conditions without crystallization. Silica is a perfect glass-forming material. But silica has a high melting point and cannot be fused at a reasonable cost. Hence, some oxides of metal are added to lower the fusions point. Addition of 25% by weight of sodium oxide decreases the melting point to around 80%
