Breviary Technical Ceramics

 

      Properties

 

 


   

5 Properties of Technical Ceramics

5.1 General Comparison

The wide variety of application possibilities for ceramic materials arise from their specific properties which in many respects cannot be achieved by other materials. To highlight some positive properties:

  • low density,
  • high hardness,
  • high mechanical strength,
  • dimensional stability (specific stiffness),
  • resistance to wear,
  • resistance to corrosion (resistance to chemical attack),
  • weathering resistance,
  • high working temperature,
  • low or high thermal conductivity,
  • good electrical insulation and
  • dielectric and ferroelectric properties.

Depending on the composition and the processing of the raw materials as well as on forming and the type of sintering, the properties of the material can be closely tailored to the desired application.

Figure 79, which compares the most important properties, simplifies an assessment of the property profile of technical ceramics as against metals and polymers.

Figure 79: A comparison of the properties of ceramics, metals and polymers

The direction of the arrow indicates the tendency in comparison with typical values. Any assessment must depend on the particular application.
A broad arrow indicates a particularly strong manifestation of the feature.

The characteristic properties of metals, ceramics and plastics can be explained by the different nature of their atomic bonds.

 

 
 
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