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.

A refractory object may include a zircon body that may include at least about 0.1 wt. % and not greater than about 5.5 wt. % of an Al.sub.2O.sub.3 containing component for a total weight of the zircon body. The zircon body may further include at least about 25 wt. % and not greater than about 35 wt. % of a SiO.sub.2 component for a total weight of the zircon body.

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.

Highly dense lithium based ceramics can be prepared by a low temperature process including combining a lithium based ceramic with a polar solvent having a lithium based salt dissolved therein and applying pressure and heat to the combination to form a salt-ceramic composite. Advantageously, the lithium salt is one that dissolves in the polar solvent and the heat applied to the combination is no greater than about 250° C. Such composites can also have high ionic conductivity.

The invention concerns a batch for the production of a refractory product, a process for the production of a refractory product, a refractory product as well as the use of a refractory product.

A porous ceramic of the present disclosure contains yttrium zirconate and yttrium oxide, and at least one of them is a main component. A member for a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus such as a shower plate, a plug or the like in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus is made of the above porous ceramic.

A scum adsorbing member provided in a twin roll continuous casting device to produce a slab by supplying a molten metal to a molten metal storage section formed by a pair of rotatable cooling rolls and a pair of side weirs, and forming and growing a solidified shell on each circumferential surface of the pair of cooling rolls, so that a part of the scum adsorbing member is immersed in the molten metal storage section includes a refractory containing a refractory metal oxide, wherein the scum adsorbing member has 15% by volume or more and 70% by volume or less of pores.

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.

A refractory object may include a zircon body that is intentionally doped with a dopant including an alkaline earth element and aluminum. The refractory object can have an improved creep deformation rate. In an embodiment, the refractory object can have a creep deformation rate of not greater than about 1.8 E-5 h.sup.−1 at a temperature of 1350° C. and a stress of 2 MPa. In another embodiment, the zircon body may include an amorphous phase including an alkaline earth metal element.

A ceramic material includes zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA), which is doped with zinc ions and other metal ions, in which the other metal ions are chromium (Cr) ions, titanium (Ti) ions, gadolinium (Gd) ions, manganese (Mn) ions, cobalt (Co) ions, iron (Fe) ions, or a combination thereof. The ceramic material may have a hardness of 1600 Hv10 to 2200 Hv10 and a bending strength of 600 MPa to 645 MPa. The ceramic material can be used as wire bonding capillary.