The present invention relates to refractories with a composition gradient for lining the interior surface of combustion chambers. The invention envisages the use of refractories characterized by the presence of a number of layers with a different chemical composition to form a gradient along the cross section of the material. The presence of the composition gradient serves to combine the corrosion resistance of the surface layer, facing towards the inside of the combustion chamber, with the shock resistance of the bulk material.

Disclosed is a process for producing a RBSiC member that has a large size and a complicated shape and possesses ceramic properties. The process is Selective Laser Sintering process which includes providing a raw material containing silicon carbide particles and a binder, forming a thin layer of the raw material, and sintering the thin layer by irradiating a desired area in the thin layer with laser to form a sintered thin layer, repeating the step of forming the sintered thin layer to obtain a green body, impregnating the green body with a carbon source and curing the green body impregnated with the carbon source to give a cured body, carbonizing an organic compound component in the cured body to give a fired body, and infiltrating the fired body with silicon and subjecting the fired body to reaction sintering to give a RBSiC member, wherein the fired body contains 8% to 30% by weight of carbon.

Provided are thermally insulating materials comprising 1 to 95 wt % ceramic oxide, 1 to 30 wt % inorganic binding agent, and treated at a temperature of less than about 1000 C.; processes for producing the insulating materials; and uses thereof.

The present invention relates to a process for producing a ceramic article, the process comprising the steps of providing a printing sol, the printing sol comprising solvent, nano-sized particles, radiation curable monomer(s) and photoinitiator, the printing sol having a viscosity of less than 500 mPa*s at 23 C., processing the printing sol as construction material in an additive manufacturing process to obtain a 3-dim article being in a gel state, the 3-dim article having a Volume A, transferring the 3-dim article being in a gel state to a 3-dim article being in an aerogel state, heat treating the 3-dim article to obtain a sintered 3-dim ceramic article, the ceramic article having a Volume F, Volume A of the 3-dim article in a gel state being more than 500% of Volume F of the ceramic article in its sintered state. The invention also relates to a ceramic article obtainable according to such a process. The ceramic article can have the shape of a dental or orthodontic article.

The invention relates to solid-state electrolytes for use in lithium-air batteries or in lithium-water batteries. It is the object of the invention to provide solid electrolyte for use in lithium-air batteries or lithium-water batteries, with the solid electrolyte having sufficient strength, good conductivity for lithium ions, imperviousness for gas and water resistance and being inexpensive in manufacture. The solid-state electrolyte in accordance with the invention has an open-pore ceramic carrier substrate. In this respect, at least one layer which is conductive for lithium ions, which has an electrical conductivity of at least 10.sup.5 Scm.sup.1 and which is gas-impervious is formed on the surface facing the cathode. In this respect, the carrier substrate has greater mechanical strength and a larger layer thickness than the at least one layer.

Provided is a method for manufacturing a sintered body for an electrolyte and an electrolyte for a fuel cell using the same. More particularly, the following disclosure relates to a method for preparing an electrolyte having a firm thin film layer by using a sintered body having controlled sintering characteristics, and application of the electrolyte to a solid oxide fuel cell. It is possible to control the sintering characteristics of a sintered body through a simple method, such as controlling the amounts of crude particles and nanoparticles. In addition, an electrode using the obtained sintered body having controlled sintering characteristics is effective for forming a firm thin film layer. Further, such an electrolyte having a firm thin film layer formed thereon inhibits combustion of fuel with oxygen when it is applied to a fuel cell, and thus shows significantly effective for improving the quality of a cell.

Hybrid composite materials including carbon nanotube sheets and flexible ceramic materials, and methods of making the same are provided herein. In one embodiment, a method of forming a hybrid composite material is provided, the method including: placing a layer of a first flexible ceramic composite on a lay-up tooling surface; applying a sheet of a pre-preg carbon fiber reinforced polymer on the flexible ceramic composite; curing the flexible ceramic composite and the pre-preg carbon fiber reinforced polymer sheet together to form a hybrid composite material; and removing the hybrid composite material from the lay-up tooling surface, wherein the first flexible ceramic composite comprises an exterior surface of the hybrid composite material.

The present disclosure generally relates to a ceramic core comprising predominantly mullite, which is derived from a precursor comprising alumina particles and siloxane binders. Free silica is present in the ceramic body, but is largely unavailable for reaction with metal alloys used in investment casting. Methods of making cast metal articles are also disclosed.

Zirconia-based particles, sols containing the zirconia-based particles, methods of making the sols and the zirconia-based particles, composites containing the zirconia-based particles in an organic matrix, and sintered bodies prepared from the zirconia-based particles are described. The zirconia-based particles are crystalline, have a primary particles size no greater than 100 nanometers, and are doped with a lanthanide element or with both a lanthanide element and yttrium.

A manufacturing system includes a tape advancing through the manufacturing system and a station of the manufacturing system. The tape includes a first portion having grains of an inorganic material bound by an organic binder. The station of the manufacturing system receives the first portion of the tape and prepares the tape for sintering by chemically changing the organic binder and/or removing the organic binder from the first portion of the tape, leaving the grains of the inorganic material, to form a second portion of the tape and, at least in part, prepare the tape for sintering.