Controllable forming technology is one of the key problems for the industrial application of gelcasting. In order to solve this problem, various kinds of influence factors in gelcasting were investigated. Trace ions, ionic strength, pH, dispersant agent, premix, amount of initiator and catalyst, temperature, pressure, materials of container and inhibitor all have influence on solidification process of ceramic slurry. The forming process of gelcasting can be controlled effectively by adjusting these factors.

Gelcasting is a novel ceramic forming technology that could be used to manufacture high-performance ceramics with complex shape. However, there are some problems in debinding of large-size green body made by gelcasting. In this paper, a new pretreatment way before binder burn-out was introduced. By means of this pretreatment processing, large-size green bodies with no defects were successfully obtained.

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The unique sequence of the α‐chain is the structural cornerstone of the collagen triple helix that dictates its conformation and molecular behavior. In this study, collagen‐like peptides of varying sequence characteristics were designed to elucidate the role of Ser (polar residues), Ala (non‐polar residues), and Arg/Glu (ionizable residues) in the formation, kinetics, and stability of the triple helix, and its self‐assembly behavior. We found that the introduction of other common amino acids in (Gly‐Hyp‐Pro)n results in varying degrees of decrease in the rate of formation and stability of the triple helix conformation and the self‐assembly into higher order structures. The introduction of Ser showed a maximal detrimental effect on these processes, followed by the Arg/Glu and Ala. Collagen‐like peptides with Ser could not form thermodynamically stable triple helix conformations and lost their ability to further self‐assemble. Arg/Glu promoted the self‐assembly of collagen‐like peptides, and electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding were key to the self‐assembly of periodic ordered structures similar to natural collagen. The hydrophobic interactions of Ala also accelerated self‐assembly to some extent, however, due to the lack of directionality of hydrophobic interactions, the formation of the long‐range ordered structure was affected negatively.

In the industrialization of gelcasting, storage of ceramic slurry has been one of the key problems that must be solved. Except for sedimentation of ceramics particle, solidification properties of slurries were also affected after long-term storage. In this article, some factors in the process of slurry were discussed, and corresponding solution methods were put forward.