This volume focuses on recent scientific and technological developments in silicon-based (i.e., silicon nitride, SiAlONs, silicon carbide, silicon oxynitride) structural ceramics. Authors from academia and industry assess the current state of the art in slilicon-based structual ceramics. Industrial case studies are advocated to highlight the development and application of these materials in real engineering environments. Proceedings of the symposium held at the 104th Annual Meeting of The American Ceramic Society, April 28-May1, 2002 in Missouri; Ceramic Transactions, Volume 142.

This volume focuses on recent scientific and technological developments in silicon-based (i.e., silicon nitride, SiAlONs, silicon carbide, silicon oxynitride) structural ceramics. Authors from academia and industry assess the current state of the art in slilicon-based structual ceramics. Industrial case studies are advocated to highlight the development and application of these materials in real engineering environments.

The objective of this program is to develop a process for making shaped silicon carbide based ceramic materials with reduced microstructural flaw size by in situ reaction of silicon with fine, ultra-uniform pored carbon skeletons that are produced from liquid polymer solutions without particulate additions. Subsidiary objectives are: (1) delineation of the maximum section size producible while maintaining microstructural uniformity; (2) production of microstructures with characteristic features reduced from the current level of approximately 5-10 microns to the level of 1 micron or less; (3) characterization of microstructure, corresponding strength levels, and statistical uniformity; and (4) delineation of dimensional tolerances and surface finish that can be held during processing without finished machining. Very uniform and reproducible carbon skeletons have been produced and modified to provide for easy siliconization without extensive grain coarsening or formation of silicon veins and/or lakes have been achieved from 1 cm thick samples of carbon skeleton with particle size of 3.2 microns and pore size of 1.9 micrometers. The siliconized material has a maximum grain size of

Discovered by Edward G. Acheson about 1890, silicon carbide is one of the oldest materials and also a new material. It occurs naturally in meteorites, but in very small amounts and is not in a useable state as an industrial material. For industrial require ments, large amounts of silicon carbide must be synthesized by solid state reactions at high temperatures. Silicon carbide has been used for grinding and as an abrasive material since its discovery. During World War II, silicon carbide was used as a heating element; however, it was difficult to obtain high density sintered silicon carbide bodies. In 1974, S. Prochazka reported that the addition of small amounts of boron compounds and carbide were effective in the sintering process to obtain high density. It was then possible to produce high density sintered bodies by pressureless sintering methods in ordinary atmosphere. Since this development, silicon carbide has received great attention as one of the high temperature structural ceramic materials. Since the 1970s, many research papers have appeared which report studies of silicon carbide and silicon nitride for structural ceramics.

Treatise on Materials Science and Technology, Volume 29: Structural Ceramics presents an overview of structural ceramics. This book begins with a survey of potential uses, designs, and barriers of particular types of structural ceramics. The silicon carbide family, silicon nitride and sialon family, and transformation toughened ceramics are discussed in detail, followed by an analysis of the various processing routes of each family of structural ceramics. This publication concludes with a review of the tribology of structural ceramics, considering many applications for structural ceramics in heat engines and other machinery that involve moving parts which must often resist wear or erosion. This volume is recommended for engineers, scientists, and researchers concerned with structural ceramics.

The last 30 years have seen a steady development in the range of ceramic materials with potential for high temperature engineering applications: in the 60s, self-bonded silicon carbide and reaction-bonded silicon nitride; in the 70s, improved aluminas, sintered silicon carbide and silicon nitrides (including sialons); in the 80s, various toughened Zr0 materials, ceramic matrix composites reinforced with silicon 2 carbide continuous fibres or whiskers. Design methodologies were evolved in the 70s, incorporating the principles of fracture mechanics and the statistical variation and time dependence of strength. These have been used successfully to predict the engineering behaviour of ceramics in the lower range of temperature. In spite of the above, and the underlying thermodynamic arguments for operations at higher temperatures, there has been a disappointing uptake of these materials in industry for high temperature usc. Most of the successful applications are for low to moderate temperatures such as seals and bearings, and metal cutting and shaping. The reasons have been very well documented and include: • Poor predictability and reliability at high temperature. • High costs relative to competing materials. • Variable reproducibility of manufacturing processes. • Lack of sufficiently sensitive non-destructive techniques. With this as background, a Europhysics Industrial Workshop sponsored by the European Physical Society (EPS) was organised by the Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN) and the Institute for Advanced Materials of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the EC, at Petten, North Holland, in April 1990 to consider the status of thermomechanical applications of engineering ceramics.

Silicon Based Polymers presents highlights in advanced research and technological innovations using macromolecular organosilicon compounds and systems, as presented in the 2007 ISPO congress. Silicon-containing materials and polymers are used all over the world and in a variety of industries, domestic products and high technology applications. Among them, silicones are certainly the most well–known, however there are still new properties discovered and preparative processes developed all the time, therefore adding to their potential. Less known, but in preparation for the future, are other silicon containing-polymers which are now close to maturity and in fact some are already available like polysilsesquioxanes and polysilanes. All these silicon based materials can adopt very different structures like chains, dendrimers, hyperbranched and networks, physical and chemical gels. The result is a vast array of materials with applications in various areas such as optics, electronics, ionic electrolytes, liquid crystals, biomaterials, ceramics and concrete, paints and coatings ... all needed to face the environmental, energetical and technological issues of today. Some industrial aspects of the applications of these materials will also be presented.

Silicon carbides have major industrial uses as high temperature structural ceramic materials. These two volumes are translated from the Japanese and provide a comprehensive account of the seminal work going on in Japan.