Thermal Insulation Materials of Alumina Based Porous Ceramics

Significant energy saving effects can be made through the improvement of furnace refractories,especially the thermal insulation refractories. In this study,the preparation and the application of different alumina based porous ceramics were briefly introduced. Alumina based porous ceramics were prepared combined foaming method with gelcasting,sol- gel process or cement curing process. The influences of different preparation methods on the sintering shrinkage, porosity, phase composition, microstructure, compressive strength and thermal conductivity were discussed. Alumina based porous ceramics with relatively high strength and low thermal conductivity could be obtained through the above mentioned methods. Compared with the traditional lining materials,about 40% energy could be saved when they were used as the furnace wall.

Porous Alumina Ceramics Fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering

Porous alumina of regular spherical particles was fabricated with the spark plasma sintering （SPS） and then compared to those obtained through conventional hot pressing （HP）. The effects of the parameters of the heating process on porosity were also investigated, Microstructural studies suggest that porous ingots including regular pores be made out of regular spherical alumina particles due to the close sphere packages. A comparative study on the relative necks of the specimens produced by SPS and HP indicates an enhancement of neck growth with SPS. Contrasting the theoretical values to the experimental results over the relative necks indicates that a proper relationship between the relative necks and the porosity can be established by a sintering model.

Sea Urchin Spines as a Model-System for Permeable,Light-Weight Ceramics with Graceful Failure Behavior.Part Ⅱ.Mechanical Behavior of Sea Urchin Spine Inspired Porous Aluminum Oxide Ceramics under Compression

Sea urchin spines were chosen as a model system for biomimetic ceramics obtained using starch-blended slip casting. Porous alumina ceramics with cap-shaped layers with different alternating porosities were found to have superior fracture behavior under bulk compression compared to ceramics with uniform porosity.They fail in a cascading manner,absorbing high amounts of energy during extended compression paths.The porosity variation in an otherwise single phase material mimicks the architectural microstructure design of sea urchin spines of Heterocentrotus mammillatus,which are promising model materials for impact protection.

Optimal design on the high-temperature mechanical properties of porous alumina ceramics based on fractal dimension analysis

Fractal theory and regression analysis were employed for the first time to investigate the effect of pore size and pore distribution on high-temperature mechanical properties of porous alumina ceramics （PAC）. In the present work, PAC with the comparable porosity, different pore sizes and pore distributions were prepared using carbon black as the pore-forming agent. Particular emphasis in this study was placed on the establishment of correlation between the thermal shock resistance and pore properties. The relationship between fractal dimension （Df） and thermal shock resistance parameter （l？st） in specimens presented the negative power function, indicating that low Df could benefit the improvement of thermal shock resistance in specimens. The results showed that the increase of pore size and pore sphericity leads to a reduced Df, the enhanced hot modulus of rupture （HMOR） and Rst. The decrease of proportion of micro-pores below 2 μm, the increase of mean pore size and pore sphericity could result in the decrease of Dr, and then improve Rst and HMOR of specimens. Based on the correlation between Rst and pore characteristics, PAC with improved thermal shock resistance could be achieved when their pore structure meets the above features.

A Green Biocompatible Fabrication of Highly Porous Functional Ceramics with High Strength and Controllable Pore Structures

A green biocompatible foaming method utilizing natural coconut oil and cornstarch was developed to fabricate highly porous functional ceramics with controllable strengths and pore structures. The poros- ity of A1203 ceramics prepared via this method reached 79.6%-86.9% while these ceramics maintained high compressive strengths of 2.2-5.5 MPa. More importantly, porous A1203 ceramic with a pore size gra- dient was also readily fabricated by casting serial layers of foams that were set for different time periods. The potential applications of porous Al2O3 and HA ceramics fabricated by this green foaming method in- cluding scaffolds for oil cleaning and cell culture, respectively, were also demonstrated.