Alumina and silicon carbide ceramic tiles provide protection for material conveyancing equipment, pipes, linings and other components in high wear environments. By prolonging equipment lifespan, they increase production efficiencies while decreasing enterprise costs.
This research examined the ballistic performance of control, refired, and laser surface-treated alumina and silicon carbide composite panels under quasi-static testing conditions. Results demonstrate that laser surface treatment significantly enhances adhesive bond strength in comparison with control refired or untreated composite panels.
Hardness
Silicon carbide ceramics are known for being extremely hard and possessing excellent abrasion resistance, along with outstanding corrosion and oxidation resistance, making them perfect for applications requiring high levels of chemical stability and abrasion resistance. Furthermore, silicon carbide ceramics possess strong strengths at elevated temperatures with good creep resistance properties.
Alumina ceramic tiles boast superior flexural strength, fracture toughness and abrasion resistance; however, their ballistic performance falls behind silicon carbide (SiC) and boron carbide (B4C). This discrepancy stems from mismatch in coefficients of thermal expansion between Al2O3 and SiC that results in thermal residual stresses that compromise structural homogeneity of ceramic structures, leading to failure of protective armor against abrasion-protection.
Research has demonstrated that laser processing of alumina and SiC prior to adhesive bonding can significantly improve resistance against ballistic impact damage caused by 7.62 and 14.5 mm projectiles tested against STANAG 4569 levels III and IV projectiles, due to increased hydrogen bond levels in the adhesive layer due to surface treatment.
Reaction bonded silicon carbide (RBSiC) is a highly wear-resistant material suitable for mining, steel manufacturing and coral industries. With 4 to 5 times stronger wear resistance compared to its nitride-bonded counterpart, RBSiC can withstand even strong abrasion forces in tough environments like mining. At IPS Ceramics we stock all major types of silicon carbide for longer lasting and rugged wear-resistance in harsh environments.
High Temperature Resistance
Silicon carbide ceramics provide greater temperature resistance than standard metals and plastics, withstanding extremely high temperatures while remaining strong over prolonged use. As such, they make the ideal material choice for applications requiring high levels of durability such as metallurgy, raw material processing, mechanical seals and electrical and semiconductor equipment.
Refractory ceramic material offers exceptional chemical and thermal shock resistance, and can serve as an insulator. Furthermore, its excellent oxidation resistance as well as wear/impact resistance makes it suitable for military, aerospace, automobile applications. Furthermore, this lightweight refractory material offers exceptional sliding abrasion resistance despite remaining lightweight and easy installation.
Reaction bonded silicon carbide (RBSiC, or SiSiC) boasts excellent mechanical properties at both room temperatures and elevated temperatures, such as flexural strength and hardness, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, fatigue strength and superior fatigue resistance; all characteristics that make it the ideal material for applications exposed to extreme abrasion.
Before selecting either alumina or silicon carbide ceramics for your application, it is crucial that you fully comprehend their differences. Both materials are great options for high wear environments but your final decision will depend on individual needs. To get optimal results and design a system tailored to them. Investing in ceramic engineering services may help with choosing an optimal material and system design solution that matches up perfectly with what your specific situation demands.
Corrosion Resistance
Corrosion resistance refers to a material’s ability to withstand damage that comes from exposure to an aggressive environment, typically through oxidation. Such damage can often be prevented or delayed through regular cleaning and the application of protective coatings, alloys or paints.
Ceramics are widely renowned for their ability to withstand abrasion and corrosion, making them suitable for many applications that demand high temperatures, heat shocks, mechanical forces and tight tolerances. Reaction bonded silicon carbide (RBSiC) ceramics offer such functionality by producing precise dimensions which allow tubes or liners for wear applications at tight dimensional tolerances; furthermore this high performance ceramic retains mechanical strength at elevated temperatures with superior creep resistance over traditional metals – making it an excellent option for load bearing applications.
Alumina can be obtained in different particle size ranges, purity levels and formation techniques to meet various properties requirements. These techniques include blending, casting, pressing and sintering to produce high wear-, corrosion- and chemical-resistance materials that can further be modified using various additives and additional components that enhance performance.
Ballistic testing on control, refired, and laser-treated composite panels comprised of alumina and silicon carbide demonstrated that laser treatment caused greater damage to their ceramic substrates than control panels. Post-ballistic inspection revealed fragments with little adhesive still attached indicating failure at the interface between ceramics and adhesive.
Wear Resistance
Wear-resistant ceramic lining tiles provide extended equipment lifecycle in high wear environments by protecting machinery from abrasion and corrosion, helping plants increase production efficiencies while simultaneously decreasing enterprise costs. They also boost operational performance and safety by decreasing downtime due to material leaks, breakdowns or repairs/replacements – improving production efficiencies while lowering enterprise costs overall.
Fine ceramics are extremely hard materials that outshone metals in terms of wear resistance. In tests where disks with both types were continuously rotated in wet sand, those containing alumina ceramic outlasted stainless steel samples by three to fifteen times longer.
Optimizing mold, sintering and other process parameters to produce dense ceramics with uniform grains and tight structures will enhance their wear resistance significantly, as will surface strengthening treatments such as coating, penetration or ion implantation.
Laser processing alumina ceramics prior to adhesive bonding has shown to significantly enhance their ability to withstand damage from 7.62 and 14.5 mm projectiles tested to STANAG 4569 levels III and IV. This increase can be attributed to an increased concentration of hydroxyl groups within both ceramics and adhesive layers, increasing adhesive bond strength. Further testing must be conducted to ascertain this treatment technique’s general applicability as well as any impact it might have on ballistic resistance of ceramics.