Program of the Summer School

Module 1: Pitfalls in powder selection, characterization and modification

There is currently an increasing commercial and scientific interest in the production and application of submicron sized and nanosized powders in high tech ceramics and composites.

The lesson describes the science, engineering and technology involved in the processing of (nano)powders and the pitfalls in dry and wet chemical processing, with a specific focus on the relevance of organic and inorganic contaminants, agglomerates and aggregates on the reliability and quality of ceramic parts, e.g. applied as implants and microparts. Examples are presented to show the significance of surface modification and powder treatment on the material properties after thermal treatment/sintering. Guidelines are offered to select the most suitable powder quality – on the basis of BET, PSD and SEM/TEM characteristics.

Module 2 : Fundamentals about colloids, their rheology and application to suspension based shaping

Many ceramic manufacturing processes employ suspensions to produce complex shaped parts and high microstructural uniformity. The main requirement to obtain high quality products is to assure the stability of the suspensions, controlling the interparticle forces operating in the colloidal suspensions and the rheological properties in concentrated suspensions. In this module the principles of colloidal stability and rheology of ceramic suspensions are presented and their influence in the manufacture of 3D pieces, substrates, coatings and layered composites using different slurry based processes are discussed on the basis of practical examples. The role of the suspension parameters in the shaping performance, the microstructural features and the behavioral properties is also demonstrated.

Module 3 : Additive manufacturing of complex ceramics from a sub-micron to meter scale

Additive manufacturing is a technology which has the potential not only to change the way of conventional industrial manufacturing processes, adding material instead of subtracting it, but also to create entirely new production and business strategies. Ceramic materials are, however, not easy to process by additive manufacturing technologies, as their processing requirements (in terms of feedstock, binder removal and sintering) can be very challenging. This lesson will provide an overview of the different strategies developed so far for additive manufacturing of ceramics, with a special focus on the capability of the respective technologies to produce ceramic parts with features ranging from the sub-micron to the meter scale.

Module 4：A toolbox towards defect-free ceramics by 3D printing

Making defect-free ceramics by 3D printing, especially stereolithography techniques, can be the key bottle-neck step for industry applications. The key scientific challenge is to control the macrostructure and microstructure defects by the proper understanding with the shaping process, to control the electronic defects by the proper understanding with the materials design and heat-treatment.  In this module several examples will be summerized and demontrated to present a toolbox for defect-free ceramics additive manufacturing. The optimization for the mechanical properties, optical properties, geometry precision control, surface quality and production efficiency for the real ceramic production will be presented.

Module 5: Fundamentals of ceramic shaping for biomedical applications

Ceramics for biomedical applications are generally called “bioceramics”. They can be divided into two main classes: those used for load-bearing applications, for example as dental implant, or those used as bone substitutes. The former ones must present high mechanical properties whereas the latter ones must be degradable, porous, and at most “load-sharing”. The catalogue of requirements is accordingly quite different. The aim of this lecture is to focus mostly on ceramics for bone substitution. Various approaches to control the size, shape, and number of pores and pore interconnections will be presented. Since recent findings suggest bone substitutes that are prone to mineralize in vivo are osteoinductive, the presentation will not only consider sintered ceramics, but calcium phosphates consolidated using hydraulic reactions. This presentation will explore these aspects keeping in mind the need to produce biocompatible medical devices.

Module 6 : The role of Ceramic Shaping in Energy Conversion and Storage

Emerging energy conversion and storage technologies such as ceramic fuel and electrolysis cells will play an important role in transitioning the energy sector from fossil to renewable energy use. They are based on functional ceramics and usually composed of multiple layers with different properties. The lesson will introduce the desired functional and structural properties to built up efficient and durable devices and introduce the related shaping and fabrication methods to control their performance.