In-situ High Temperature Phase Transformations in Ceramics

Abstract

This project was aimed at developing the foundation, based on existing knowledge of various high temperature material properties, to explore new ceramic materials with interesting phase transformation properties. The systems focused on were one and two component oxide ceramic systems with the potential for application in the aerospace industry, namely, high temperature, chemically stable, oxide ceramics. A thorough evaluation of literature was conducted to identify three to five key ceramic oxide materials that may have promising high temperature phase transformation behavior. Eventually, based on literature and PIs extensive knowledge on phase transformations in oxide ceramics, four candidate ceramic oxide materials were identified for in-depth investigation of their high temperature and phase transformation properties by state-of-the-art, in-situ high temperature experimentation which included DSC/TGA, dilatometry and high temperature X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. These included (a) Y 2 SiO 5 , (b) CaWO 4 , (c) CePO 4 and (d) YTaO 4 .