The niche of ceramics has made astounding advancements in recent years. Today the word is no longer associated with just colorful pots and pans but a whole tide of advanced technology that can be used for various industrial purposes. The innovation in ceramics is based on the different proportions of ingredients that are added to the basic ceramic material and processed through various scientific techniques to produce products that have a foundation of ceramics but a far higher adaptive functionality. The ceramic products made with such innovative experimentation are categorized as industrial ceramics. They are far superior in their thermal stability and resistance to the normal wear and tear that are subject to regular ceramic products. As such these ceramic components find a wide range of applications.
The types of ceramics have a huge role to play in the kind of applications they find in the industrial world today. Here are the three major types of advanced ceramics that are contributing to the evolution of various niche industries today.
Alumina Ceramic
This is the most common and quite possibly the most widely used type of ceramic today. Alumina is formed from the base material of aluminum oxide. The ceramic can be created using a variety of techniques and some of the most prominent amongst them is the injection molding process. Also, isotactic pressing is a technique used to create alumina ceramic in many factories. The high concentration of ionic and atomic bond that forms the alumina ceramic makes it a very stable insulator used for electric and mechanical applications. The ceramic is also highly durable and thus a very common product used in semiconductor materials and as well as advanced automotive sensors to keep them working for years without any drops in the level of functionality.
Zirconia Ceramic
This is made up of zirconium oxide which has a tensile strength and very high threshold for resistance against corrosion and abrasion. This makes it a welcome addition to any industrial application which requires protection against heavy level degradation. The zirconia ceramic is thus the favorite option for creating manufacturing materials for bearings and machine grinding parts. The ceramic also has a high level of fracture toughness which makes it an excellent choice for creating dental ceramics for crowns and veneers that can withstand constant pressure and grinding.
Silicon Carbide Ceramic
This is also one of the most popular advanced ceramics where the base material is created by bonding silicon carbide grains through an innovative technique which is referred to as sintering. The result is a hardened form of the base ceramic which is highly resistant to wear and tear. The high endurance level of this type of ceramic makes it ideal for use in car brakes, bulletproof vests and even creating break-proof ceramic plates for various industrial usage.
These and many other variations of advanced ceramics have found multiple uses in the automotive, aerospace and healthcare industries. They are required to be highly durable but also sensitive to the different stimuli which makes them ideal for use in technological sensors that are equipped to take reflexive action on stimuli.