87445 - Ceramics Technology and Materials Characterization M

Learning outcomes

Introduction to the characteristics, the properties, the manufacturing, the application and the recycling of ceramic materials. Knowledge of basic and advanced techniques for mechanical, thermal and morphological characterization of materials.

Course contents

Module 1 Ceramics technology (36 h)

• Introduction: ceramic materials and products; definitions, classification. Traditional and advanced ceramics.
• Microstucture and general properties of ceramic materials: monocrystalline, polycrystalline, glassy materials. Crystalline structures in ceramics. Phase distribution. Porosity. Mechanical thermal, chemical, electrical and functional properties of ceramic materials. Structure-properties correlations.
• Raw materials for ceramic products: silicates: silica, clays, feldspar. Non-silicates raw materials. Characterization and quality of raw materials for traditional ceramics: chemical composition, mineralogical structure, granulometry, rheology, plasticity, moldability, melting and thermal transitions during consolidation. Ceramic compounds; composition, functions, criteria for ceramic design.
• Preparation of ceramic compounds. Machining, dry and wet treatments. Technical aspects.
• Forming of ceramic products: powder pressing, wet molding, extrusion.
• Surface treatments for ceramic products: pigments and dyes. Innovations in the ceramic world: ink-jet printing with ceramic dyes for high-level decoration.
• Traditional ceramic products: tiles compositions, features, production lines, selection and properties. Bricks and materials for structural constructions. Pots. Sanitary ceramics. Refractory materials.
• Non-oxide ceramics. Nitrides, borides, carbides. Characterization, features and applications in advanced industrial fields.
• Functional glasses and the amorphous state.

Module 2 Advanced ceramics and materials characterization (dr. Micaela Degli Esposti, 36 h)

• Bioceramics and bioglasses for medical applications and regenerative medicine.
• Thermal screens for aerospace application.
• Cool roof.
• Sol-gel reactions.
  
• Determination of the surface properties of materials: XPS.
• Chromatographic methods for the characterization of polymers: GPC.
• Spectroscopic methods for the chemical characterization of materials: FT-IR, UV-Vis, NMR, XRD.
• Determination of the mechanical properties of materials: hardness, tensile, flexural and compression testing, impact testing.
• Thermal analysis of materials: TGA, DTA, DSC.
  
• Microscopies: optical microscopy, electronic microscopies SEM and TEM, atomic force microscopy AFM
• Cases studied from industry and Academia.

Readings/Bibliography

• Materials given by the professors, available on line.
• Materiali da costruzione. L. Bertolini. Volume primo, 2° Ed., Città Studi Ed., Milano, 2010.
• Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali. W. F. Smith, J. Haschemi. McGraw-Hill, Milano.
• Instrumental methods of analysis. Hobart H. Willard, Lynne L. Merritt Jr, John A. Dean, Frank A. Settle Jr. CBS.
• Foundation of materials science and engineering. W. F. Smith, J. Haschemi. McGraw Hill.
• Materials science and engineering an introduction. W. D. Callister, D. G. Rethwisch. John Wiley & Sons.
• Fundamentals of materials science and engineering an integrated approach. W. D. Callister, D. G. Rethwisch. John Wiley & Sons.
• Biomaterials science - An introduction to materials in medicine. B. D. Ratner, A. S. Hoffman, F. J. Schoen, J. E. Lemons. Academic Press Elsevier, 2013

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons.

Assessment methods

Oral exams on the contents of the course. The final mark corresponds to the mean of the marks obtained in the two modules, averaged over the respective CFU.

Teaching tools

Slides from the lectures are made available on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Micaela Degli Esposti

See the website of Enrico Sassoni