Ceramics | Types, Applications, Properties, Advantages, Disadvantages

Table of Contents

What are ceramics?

The word ceramics is derived from the Greek word keramos which means ‘potter’s clay’. However, many compounds which are classified as ceramics today contain no clay. Modern Ceramics can be defined as the compounds of metals and non-metals. They generally have ionic atomic bonding between them.

Traditional ceramics include insulating materials, glass, refractories, abrasives and enamels. They include metal oxides, carbides, borides, nitrides and silicates. Some of their examples are Tungsten carbide, Silicon carbide, Beryllia, Zirconia, Alumina, Magnesia.

Testing ceramic materials

Advantages of ceramics

Most of them have high hardness hence they are used as abrasive powder and cutting tools
They have high melting point which makes them excellent refractory material
They are good thermal insulators this is another reason to use them as refractory material
They are high electric resistivity which makes them suitable to be used an insulator
They have low mass density which results in lightweight components
They are generally chemically inert which makes them durable

Disadvantages of ceramics

They are brittle in nature
They have almost zero ductility
They have poor tensile strength
The show a wide range in the variation of strength, even for the identical specimens
They are difficult to shape and machine

Types of ceramics

They are mainly of two types of ceramics based on their atomic structure.

Crystalline ceramics
Non-crystalline ceramics

They can also be classified into three different material categories.

Oxides
Non-oxides
composites

Properties of ceramics

High hardness
High melting point
Good Thermal insulator
Highly electricity resistance
Low mass density
Generally, chemically inert
Brittle in nature
Zero ductility
Low tensile strength

Examples of ceramics

Barium titanate
Bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide
Boron oxide
Boron nitride
Earthenware
Ferrite
Lead zirconate titanate
Magnesium diboride
Porcelain
Sialon (Silicon Aluminum Oxynitride)
Silicon carbide
Silicon nitride
Titanium carbide
Uranium oxide
Yttrium barium copper oxide
Zinc oxide
Zirconium dioxide
Partially stabilized zirconia

Applications of ceramics

They are used in space industry because of their low weight
They are used as cutting tools
They are used as refractory materials
They are used as thermal insulator
They are used as electrical insulator

Featured image attribution: By DLR German Aerospace Center – Ceramic materials being tested as a thermal storage medium, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25662723