• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.462-466
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• 2015

This paper reports the microstructure of hot-pressed $ZrB_2$-SiC ceramics with added $B_4C$ as characterized by transmission electron microscopy. $ZrB_2$ has a melting point of $3245^{\circ}C$, a relatively low density of $6.1g/cm^3$, and specific mechanical properties at an elevated temperature, making it a candidate for application to environments with ultra-high temperatures which exceed $2000^{\circ}C$. Due to the non-sinterability of $ZrB_2$-based ceramics, research on sintering aids such as $B_4C$ or $MoSi_2$ has become prominent recently. From TEM investigations, an amorphous layer with contaminant oxide is observed in the vicinity of $B_4C$ grains remaining in hot-pressed $ZrB_2$-SiC ceramics with $B_4C$ as an additive. The effect of a $B_4C$ addition on the microstructure of this system is also discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.395-402
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• 2015

The suspension plasma spray (SPS) technique has been used to obtain dense $Y_2O_3$ coatings and to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional air plasma spray (APS). SPS uses suspensions containing micrometer or sub-micrometer sized powders dispersed in liquid media. In this study, microstructure developments and mechanical properties have been investigated as functions of particle size of source material and plasma processing parameters such as plasma power and stand-off distance. The microstructure of the coating was found to be highly related to the particle size and the plasma processing parameters, and it was directly reflected in the hardness and the adhesion strength. When fine powder (BET $16.4m^2/g$) was used as a raw material in the suspension, there was, with increasing stand-off distance, a change from a dense structure with a slightly bumpy surface to a porous structure with a cauliflower-like surface. On the other hand, when a coarse powder (BET $2.8m^2/g$) was used, the coating density was lower, with microscopic splats on the surface. Using fine $Y_2O_3$ powders, the coating layer with an optimum short stand-off distance showed a high hardness of approximately 90% of that of sintered $Y_2O_3$ and an adhesion strength several times higher than that of the coating by conventional APS.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2017

In this study, we investigate the effect of additive size on the densification and thermal conductivity of AlN ceramics with $MgO-CaO-Al_2O_3-SiO_2$ (MCAS) additives. Micro-sized MCAS powder prepared via melting and nano-sized MCAS powder synthesized via the polymeric complex method are used as sintering additives. We analyze the densification behavior of AlN added with 5 wt.% of MCAS by dilatometry as well as by isothermal sintering in the temperature range of $1300{\sim}1700^{\circ}C$. AlN exhibits higher sinterability with nano-MCAS than with micro-MCAS, and both specimens approach their maximum densities when sintered at $1600^{\circ}C$ for 4 h. The thermal conductivities of AlN with 5 wt% of nano- and micro-MCAS additives sintered at $1600^{\circ}C$ are 82.6 and 32.0 W/mK, respectively. We find that nano-MCAS is more effective in sintering of AlN ceramics at lower temperatures, and thus for enhancing their thermal conductivities.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.550-557
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• 2020

Used in the ceramic tile market as a representative building material, relief ceramic tile is showing increased demand recently. Since ceramic tiles are manufactured through a sintering process at over 1,000 ℃ after uniaxial compression molding by loading granule powders into a mold, it is very important to secure the flowability of granular powders in a mold having a relief pattern. In this study, kaolin, silica, and feldspar are used as starting materials to prepare granule powders by a spray dryer process; the surface of the granule powders is subject to hydrophobic treatment with various concentrations of stearic acid. The effect on the flowability of the granular powder according to the change of stearic acid concentration is confirmed by measuring the angle of repose, tap density, and compressibility, and the occurrence of cracks in the green body produced in the mold with the relief pattern is observed. Then, the green body is sintered by a fast firing process, and the water absorption, flexural strength, and durability are evaluated. The surface treatment of the granule powders with stearic acid improves the flowability of the granule powders, leading to a dense microstructure of the sintered body. Finally, the hydrophobic treatment of the granule powders makes it possible to manufacture relief ceramic tiles having a flexural strength of 292 N/cm, a water absorption of 0.91 %, and excellent mechanical durability.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.420-425
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• 2015

Rare-earth zirconates, such as lanthanum zirconates and gadolinium zirconates, have been intensively investigated due to their excellent properties of low thermal conductivity as well as chemical stability at high temperature, which can make these materials ones of the most promising candidates for next-generation thermal barrier coating applications. In this study, three compositions, lanthanum/gadolinium zirconates with reduced rare-earth contents from stoichiometric $RE_2Zr_2O_7$ compositions, are fabricated via solid state reaction as well as sintering at $1600^{\circ}C$ for 4 hrs. The phase formation, microstructure, and thermo-physical properties of three oxide ceramics are examined. In particular, each oxide ceramics exhibits composite structures between pyrochlore and fluorite phases. The potential of lanthanum/gadolinium zirconate ceramics for TBC applications is also discussed.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.413-419
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• 2015

Lanthanum zirconate, $La_2Zr_2O_7$, is one of the most promising candidates for next-generation thermal barrier coating (TBC) applications in high efficient gas turbines due to its low thermal conductivity and chemical stability at high temperature. In this study, bulk specimens and thermal barrier coatings are fabricated via a variety of sintering processes as well as suspension plasma spray in lanthanum zirconates with reduced rare-earth contents. The phase formation, microstructure, and thermo-physical properties of these oxide ceramics and coatings are examined. In particular, lanthanum zirconates with reduced rare-earth contents in a $La_2Zr_2O_7-4YSZ$ composite system exhibit a single phase of fluorite or pyrochlore after fabricated by suspension plasma spray or spark plasma sintering. The potential of lanthanum zirconate ceramics for TBC applications is also discussed.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.148-153
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• 2010

Thermal barrier systems have been widely investigated over the past decades, in order to enhance reliability and efficiency of gas turbines at higher temperatures. Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is one of the most leading materials as the thermal barriers due to its low thermal conductivity, thermodynamic stability, and thermal compatibility with metal substrates. In this work, rare-earth oxides with pyrochlore phases for thermal barrier systems were investigated. Pyrochlore phases were successfully formed via solid-state reactions started from rare-earth oxide powders. For the heat-treated samples, thermo-physical properties were examined. These rare-oxide oxides showed thermal expansion of $9{\sim}12{\times}10^{-6}/K$ and thermal conductivity of 1.2~2.4 W/mK, which is comparable with the thermal properties of YSZ.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.410-415
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• 2013

$ZrB_2$-SiC ceramics are fabricated via hot pressing with different ratios of submicron or nano-sized SiC in a $ZrB_2$-20 vol%SiC system, in order to examine the effect of the SiC size ratio on the microstructures and physical properties, such as thermal conductivity, hardness, and flexural strength, of $ZrB_2$-SiC ceramics. Five different $ZrB_2$-SiC ceramics ($ZrB_2$-20 vol%[(1-x)SiC + xnanoSiC] where x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1.0) are prepared in this study. The mean SiC particle sizes in the sintered bodies are highly dependent on the ratio of nano-sized SiC. The thermal conductivities of the $ZrB_2$-SiC ceramics increase with the ratio of nano-sized SiC, which is consistent with the percolation behavior. In addition, the $ZrB_2$-SiC ceramics with smaller mean SiC particle sizes exhibit enhanced mechanical properties, such as hardness and flexural strength, which can be explained using the Hall-Petch relation.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.641-646
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• 2016

The effects of water addition on $Y_2O_3$ coatings or thick films prepared by plasma suspension spray (SPS) have been investigated. Water addition in suspension media was found to be effective to control the color of a $Y_2O_3$ coating prepared by SPS. The color changed with water addition at the shortest stand-off distance of 50 mm even if samples had the same crystalline phase. Change was not correlated with fragmentation behavior of liquid suspension inside the plasma jet. Water content over 50 vol% was found to produce unmelted particles, indicating that water suppressed heat transfer to the particles. However, plasma jet temperature was not affected. Instead, the coating fabricated with water addition has higher oxygen and lower carbon content compared to these characteristics of the coating without water addition. This was attributed to the retarded complete evaporation of liquid media from the suspension droplet, resulting in inhibition of excessive heating and evaporation of the molten $Y_2O_3$ droplet. In this regard, crystalline phase development with respect to stand-off distance and water addition was discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.511-517
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• 2017

With different working pressures and substrate biases, Cr-Al-N coatings were deposited by hybrid physical vapor deposition (PVD) method, consisting of unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering and arc ion plating (AIP) processes. Cr and Al targets were used for the arc ion plating and the sputtering process, respectively. Phase analysis, and composition, binding energy, and microstructural analyses were performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively. Surface droplet size of Cr-Al-N coatings was found to decrease with increasing substrate bias. A decrease of the deposition rate of Cr-Al-N films was expected due to the increase of substrate bias. The coatings were grown with textured CrN phase and (111), (200), and (220) planes. X-ray diffraction data show that all Cr-Al-N coatings shifted to lower diffraction angles due to the addition of Al. The XPS results were used to determine the $Cr_2N$, CrN, and (Cr,Al)N binding energies. The compositions of the Cr-Al-N films were measured by XPS to be Cr 23.2~36.9 at%, Al 30.1~40.3 at%, and N 31.3~38.6 at%.