Components having an environmental barrier coating and a sintered layer overlying the environmental barrier coating, the sintered layer defining an outer surface having a lower surface roughness than the environmental barrier coating. The sintered layer is formed from a slurry applied to and then sintered on the environmental barrier coating. The sintered layer comprises a primary material, at least one sintering aid dissolved in the primary material, and optionally a secondary material. The sintering aid contains at least one doping composition. The primary material is a rare earth disilicate or a rare earth monosilicate and is doped with the doping composition so as to be either a doped rare earth disilicate or a doped rare earth monosilicate. The optional secondary material is a reaction product of the primary material and any of the sintering aid not dissolved in the primary material.

Textured ceramic compositions having improved piezoelectric characteristics as compared with their random counterparts are provided. Methods of making the compositions and devices using them are also included. More particularly, compositions comprising textured ceramic Na.sub.0.5Bi.sub.0.5TiO.sub.3—BaTiO.sub.3(NBT-BT) materials synthesized from high aspect ratio NBT seeds exhibit improved characteristics, including an increased longitudinal piezoelectric constant (d.sub.33) and magnetoelectric coupling coefficient over randomly oriented NBT-BT. Additionally provided are compositions comprising of nanostructured Na.sub.0.5B.sub.0.5TiO.sub.3—BaTiO.sub.3 ferroelectric whiskers having a high aspect ratio. Nanostructured whiskers can be used to improve the piezoelectric properties of the bulk ceramics. The inventive materials are useful in microelectronic devices, with some finding particular application as multilayer actuators and transducers.

The present invention relates to sintered shaped abrasive grains on basis of aluminum oxide. Sintered shaped abrasive grains consistent with the disclosure include mineralogical phases made of mullite, tialite and/or armalcolite, and baddeleyite and/or srilankite. Methods for producing sintered shaped abrasive grains using alumina, ilmenite and zircon sand as raw materials are also provided.

The present invention is a piezoelectric composition and a piezoelectric element using the piezoelectric composition, the composition being characterized by: having a Perovskite structure represented by general formula ABO3; being represented by composition formula x(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3-yBi(Mg0.5Ti0.5)O3-zBiFeO3, x+y+z=1 in the composition formula above; and in a triangular coordinate using x, y and z in the composition formula above, having a composition represented by a region which is surrounded by a pentagon ABCDE with apexes of point A (1, 0, 0), point B (0.7, 0.3, 0), point C (0.1, 0.3, 0.6), point D (0.1, 0.1, 0.8) and point E (0.2, 0, 0.8) and which does not include the line segment AE that connects point A (1, 0, 0) and point E (0.2, 0, 0.8).

Provided is a piezoelectric material that is free of lead and potassium, has satisfactory insulation property and piezoelectricity, and has a high Curie temperature. The piezoelectric material includes a perovskite-type metal oxide represented by the following general formula (1): General formula (1) (Na.sub.xM.sub.1-y)(Zr.sub.z(Nb.sub.1-wTa.sub.w).sub.y(Ti.sub.1-vSn.sub.v).sub.(1-y-z))O.sub.3 where M represents at least any one of Ba, Sr, and Ca, and relationships of 0.80≦x≦0.95, 0.85≦y≦0.95, 0<z≦0.03, 0≦v<0.2, 0≦w<0.2, and 0.05≦1−y−z≦0.15 are satisfied.

A Dielectric Energy Storage System (DESS) and method that stores energy for a wide variety of applications.

The invention relates to A slurry composition, comprising: an inorganic powder; a dispersant; and a solvent wherein the dispersant is a block copolymer comprising at least one hydrophobic block A and at least one hydrophilic block B, and wherein the blocks A and B comprise repeating units represented by the following general formula (I) wherein R.sup.1 is selected from a hydrogen atom, a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and a cyclic alkyl group having 4 to 6 carbon atoms, and wherein at least one carboxylic acid group or a salt thereof is covalently linked to the block copolymer.

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The present invention relates to a method of preparing a solid solution ceramic material having increased electromechanical strain, as well as ceramic materials obtainable therefrom and uses thereof. In one aspect, the present invention provides a method A method of increasing electromechanical strain in a solid solution ceramic material which exhibits an electric field induced strain derived from a reversible transition from a non-polar state to a polar state; i) determining a molar ratio of at least one polar perovskite compound having a polar crystallographic point group to at least one non-polar perovskite compound having a non-polar crystallographic point group which, when combined to form a solid solution, forms a ceramic material with a major portion of a non-polar state; ii) determining the maximum polarization, P.sub.max, remanent polarisation, P.sub.r, and the difference, P.sub.max−P.sub.r, for the solid solution formed in step i); and either: iii)a) modifying the molar ratio determined in step i) to form a different solid solution of the same perovskite compounds which exhibits an electric field induced strain and which has a greater difference, P.sub.max−P.sub.r, between maximum polarization, P.sub.max, and remanent polarisation, P.sub.r, than for the solid solution from step i), or; iii)b) adjusting the processing conditions used for preparing the solid solution formed in step i) to increase the difference, P.sub.max−P.sub.r, in maximum polarization, P.sub.max, and remanent polarisation, P.sub.r, of the solid solution.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of materials having high thermal conductivity along with a high dielectric constants. In some embodiments, a two phase composite ceramic material can be formed having a contiguous aluminum oxide phase with a secondary phase embedded within the continuous phase. Example secondary phases include calcium titanate, strontium titanate, or titanium dioxide.

A sintered rod-shaped proppant and anti-flowback agent possesses high strength and high conductivity. The sintered rods comprise between about 0.2% by weight and about 4% by weight aluminum titanate. In some embodiments, the sintered rods are made by mixing bauxitic and non-bauxitic sources of alumina that may also contain several so-called impurities (such as TiO.sub.2), extruding the mixture, and sintering it. The starting material may optionally be milled to achieve better compacity and crush resistance in the final sintered rod. A fracturing fluid may comprise the sintered rods alone or in combination with a proppant, preferably a proppant of a different shape.