A method for producing a hollow part made of a ceramic matrix composite material. The method includes shaping a hollow fibrous preform. A core of oxidizable material is housed or inserted into the preform. The method also includes consolidating the preform and extracting the core by oxidising the core.

A synthesis method for producing a refractory oxide-ceramic material of CaZrO.sub.3, in particular in the form of a refractory granular material that is preferably mechanically comminuted, in particular crushed and/or ground, as well as to a batch and a coarse ceramic, shaped or unshaped, refractory product containing at least one pre-synthesized refractory calcium zirconate-containing granular material.

A method for improving current carrying capacity of a second-generation high-temperature superconducting tape, which includes: stretching the second-generation high-temperature superconducting tape in a high-temperature environment, and carrying out an oxygenation heat treatment on the stretched second-generation high-temperature superconducting tape The atmosphere of the high-temperature environment is oxygen, or an inert gas, or a mixture thereof, and a temperature of the high-temperature environment is 450-650° C.; and a strain for stretching ranges from 0.1% to 1%, and a time for stretching ranges from 1 minute to 100 hours. The method of the present invention is a post-processing technique for the second-generation high-temperature superconducting tape with a simple treatment process and a controllable result, and by stretching, current carrying capacity of the superconducting tape is improved and anisotropy of superconductivity is reduced.

Provided is a red mud-based composite calcium ferrite and a preparation method and use thereof. The preparation method of the red mud-based composite calcium ferrite includes the following steps: mixing red mud and a calcium source, and roasting an obtained mixture in an oxygen-containing atmosphere to obtain the red mud-based composite calcium ferrite; where the calcium source is selected from the group consisting of lime and calcium carbonate. In the present disclosure, the composite calcium ferrite is prepared using a solid waste red mud, with a greatly reduced cost of raw materials; on the other hand, compared with traditional calcium ferrite, the composite calcium ferrite mainly has phase structures of CaFe.sub.2O.sub.4, Ca.sub.2FeAlO.sub.5, and Ca.sub.2Fe.sub.2O.sub.5. Therefore, the composite calcium ferrite has a lower melting point, a higher lime dissolution efficiency, and better fluxing and dephosphorization effects during primary smelting and refining of molten steel, and has broad prospects for use in industry.

Methods of producing a ceramic article include heating the ceramic green body containing a quantity of one or more organic materials to extract only a fraction of the organic materials from the ceramic green body by exposing the ceramic green body to a process atmosphere which is heated to a hold temperature of from 225° C. to about 400° C. and has from 2% to 7% O.sub.2 by volume of the process atmosphere. The method further includes cooling the ceramic green body to a temperature of below 200° C., exposing the ceramic green body to a higher concentration of O.sub.2 than in the process atmosphere of the heating step, and firing the ceramic green body to form the ceramic article. Volatile extraction units for implementing the methods are also described.

A die or piston of a spark plasma sintering apparatus, wherein the die or piston is made from graphite and the outer surfaces of the die or piston are coated with a silicon carbide layer with a thickness of 1 to 10 micrometres, the silicon carbide layer being further optionally coated with one or more other layer(s) made from a carbide other than silicon carbide chosen from hafnium carbide, tantalum carbide and titanium carbide, the other layer(s) each having a thickness of 1 to 10 micrometres. A spark plasma sintering (SPS) apparatus comprising the die and two of the pistons, defining a sintering, densification or assembly chamber capable of receiving a powder to be sintered, a part to be densified, or parts to be assembled. A method of sintering a powder, densifying a part, or assembling two parts by means of a method of spark plasma sintering (SPS) in an oxidising atmosphere, using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) apparatus.

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a sintered body by sintering with laser irradiation, the method for manufacturing a sintered body, including: a raw material providing step of providing a raw material containing a ceramic powder and a laser absorbing oxide having an absorption rate at a laser wavelength higher by 5% or more than that of the ceramic powder; an article forming step of forming an article formed from the raw material, an article partially including a region consisting of only the raw material, or an article formed from the raw material and formed on a base material; and a sintering step of irradiating the article with a laser to form a sintered portion.

A sputtering target including an oxide with a low impurity concentration is provided. Provided is a method for manufacturing a sputtering target, including a first step of preparing a mixture including indium, zinc, an element M (the element M is aluminum, gallium, yttrium, or tin), and oxygen; a second step of raising a temperature of the mixture from a first temperature to a second temperature in a first atmosphere containing nitrogen at a concentration of higher than or equal to 90 vol % and lower than or equal to 100 vol %; and a third step of lowering the temperature of the mixture from the second temperature to a third temperature in a second atmosphere containing oxygen at a concentration of higher than or equal to 10 vol % and lower than or equal to 100 vol %.

A solid ionic conducting material for use in an electrochemical device comprises an oxyhydroxide or hydrated oxide derived from of an oxide with a perovskite, Brownmillerite, layered oxide, and/or K.sub.4CdCl.sub.6 structure, the elemental composition of the initial oxide being selected to provide suitable conduction properties for the derived anhydrous or hydrated oxyhydroxide or hydrated oxide. A method of making such a solid ionic conducting material, including treatment with water, and an electrochemical device incorporating such a solid ionic conducting material (optionally as an electrolyte) are also disclosed.

Disclosed are a ten-membered fergusonite structure high-entropy oxide ceramic and a preparation method thereof, where the high-entropy oxide ceramic has a monoclinic structure, with a chemical formula of RENbO.sub.4, and the RE is any ten rare-earth cations selected from a group consisting of La.sup.3+, Ce.sup.3+, Pr.sup.3+, Nd.sup.3+, Sm.sup.3+, Eu.sup.3+, Gd.sup.3+, Dy.sup.3+, Ho.sup.3+, Er.sup.3+, Tm.sup.3+, Yb.sup.3+, Lu.sup.3+ and Y.sup.3+. The ten rare-earth cations have a molar ratio of 1:1:1:1:1:1:1:1:1:1 and equal share of RE position. According to the application, by adopting solid state reaction, the fergusonite structure high-entropy oxide ceramic with single-phase structure, uniform element distribution and stable phase is obtained. The high-entropy oxide ceramic prepared by the application is simple in process, uniform in chemical composition and microstructure, and convenient to realize on-demand regulation on properties through a combination of different elements.