The Proceedings of the International Materials Symposium on Ceramic Microstructures '86: Role of Interfaces presents a comprehensive coverage of the past decade's advances in ceramic science and technology related to microstructures. The term microstructure is used in the broad sense and is synonymous with char~cter. Character is defined as a complete detailed description of chemical and physical characteristics of a material. This symposium is the third in a series, held every ten years, on ceramic microstructures. The first symposium, in 1966, had as a subtitle "Their Analysis, Significance and Production" and emphasized the need and importance of characterization in order to fully understand the chemical and physical properties of materials. The second Symposium, in 1976, placed emphasis on the exploration of characters most suited and needed for "Energy-Related Applications." By the time of that conference, the sequence of processing--characterization--properties was fully accepted. It was recognized that characterization was the basis of materials science; the objective of processing was to produce a desired character that was considered necessary to realize a given property or behavior. To further emphasize the importance of character, the symposium dealt primarily with the property/character coupling.

This volume, titled Proceedings of the International Materials Symposium on Ce ramic Microstructures: Control at the Atomic Level summarizes the progress that has been achieved during the past decade in understanding and controlling microstructures in ceram ics. A particular emphasis of the symposium, and therefore of this volume, is advances in the characterization, understanding, and control of micro structures at the atomic or near-atomic level. This symposium is the fourth in a series of meetings, held every ten years, devoted to ceramic microstructures. The inaugural meeting took place in 1966, and focussed on the analysis, significance, and production of microstructure; the symposium emphasized the need for, and importance of characterization in achieving a more complete understanding of the physical and chemical characteristics of ceramics. A consensus emerged at that meeting on the critical importance of characterization in achieving a more complete understanding of ceramic properties. That point of view became widely accepted in the ensuing decade. The second meeting took place in 1976 at a time of world-wide energy shortages and thus emphasized energy-related applications of ceramics, and more specifically, microstructure-property relationships of those materials. The third meeting, held in 1986, was devoted to the role that interfaces played both during processing, and in influencing the ultimate properties of single and polyphase ceramics, and ceramic-metal systems.

This text deals with the effect of processing on the microstructure and properties of advanced structural and electroceramic materials. It fulfils the need for a well illustrated book explaining the relation between microstructure and properties in structural ceramics, featuring high quality micrographs and characterization techniques.

The Proceedings of the International Materials Symposium on Ceramic Microstructures '86: Role of Interfaces presents a comprehensive coverage of the past decade's advances in ceramic science and technology related to microstructures. The term microstructure is used in the broad sense and is synonymous with char~cter. Character is defined as a complete detailed description of chemical and physical characteristics of a material. This symposium is the third in a series, held every ten years, on ceramic microstructures. The first symposium, in 1966, had as a subtitle "Their Analysis, Significance and Production" and emphasized the need and importance of characterization in order to fully understand the chemical and physical properties of materials. The second Symposium, in 1976, placed emphasis on the exploration of characters most suited and needed for "Energy-Related Applications." By the time of that conference, the sequence of processing--characterization--properties was fully accepted. It was recognized that characterization was the basis of materials science; the objective of processing was to produce a desired character that was considered necessary to realize a given property or behavior. To further emphasize the importance of character, the symposium dealt primarily with the property/character coupling.

The Proceedings of the International Materials Symposium on Ceramic Microstructures '86: Role of Interfaces presents a comprehensive coverage of the past decade's advances in ceramic science and technology related to microstructures. The term microstructure is used in the broad sense and is synonymous with char~cter. Character is defined as a complete detailed description of chemical and physical characteristics of a material. This symposium is the third in a series, held every ten years, on ceramic microstructures. The first symposium, in 1966, had as a subtitle "Their Analysis, Significance and Production" and emphasized the need and importance of characterization in order to fully understand the chemical and physical properties of materials. The second Symposium, in 1976, placed emphasis on the exploration of characters most suited and needed for "Energy-Related Applications." By the time of that conference, the sequence of processing--characterization--properties was fully accepted. It was recognized that characterization was the basis of materials science; the objective of processing was to produce a desired character that was considered necessary to realize a given property or behavior. To further emphasize the importance of character, the symposium dealt primarily with the property/character coupling.

A Review of the Alumina/Ag-Cu-Ti Active Metal Brazing Process is based on the PhD thesis entitled "The Effects of Alumina Purity, Ticusil® Braze Preform Thickness and Post-grinding Heat Treatment, on the Microstructure, Mechanical and Nanomechanical Properties of Alumina-to-Alumina Brazed Joints" which was awarded by Imperial College London’s CASC Steering Group as the 2017 recipient of the Professor Sir Richard Brook Prize (sponsored by Morgan Advanced Materials plc) for Best Ceramics PhD Thesis in the UK. It focusses on the alumina/Ag-Cu-Ti system to cover the active metal brazing of ceramics, variables involved in the process, and the effects of these variables on wetting, interfacial reaction layer formation, and joint strength. The comprehensive review brings together findings from the literature into one place, and presents key concepts in a concise and easy- to-read manner.

A unique combination of the basic science and fundamental aspects of joints and interfaces with the engineering aspects of the subject. Contributors include researchers drawn from several Eastern European countries. Topics addressed include processing, interfacial reactions, graded joints, residual stress measurement and analysis, and failure and deformation. Audience: Academic and industrial researchers and ceramic manufacturers interested in understanding the current state of the art in joining.

The high expectations set on ceramic materials in recent years have always been balanced by the very considerable difficulties seen in reaching the required levels of reproducibility and cost. Indications of the significant progress, which can be seen in the papers presented in this volume, coupled with the recognition that considerable problems still lie between the state of the art and the full and confident exploitation of the many merits of ceramics, provide a healthy basis for the profitable selection of future research directions. The mastery of ceramic processing and the imaginative matching of the properties of these materials to diverse applications remain among the most promising sectors for technological development.

Many of the most important properties of materials in high-technology applications are strongly influenced or even controlled by the presence of solid interfaces. In this work, leading international authorities review the broad range of subjects in this field focusing on the atomic level properties of solid interfaces.