Thermal storage unit including: a receptacle including orifices allowing a heat-transfer fluid to be introduced into and extracted, and a stack of bricks, arranged in the receptacle in superposed strata, each stratum having lower and upper large faces and defining a plurality of ducts opening via lower and upper openings, the stack including a pair of strata of a lower and upper stratum, the upper and lower large faces of the lower and upper stratum being separated to define a passage, placing an upper opening of a lower duct of the lower stratum in fluidic communication with at least one lower opening, entirely offset with respect to the upper opening, of at least one upper duct of the upper stratum, the lower large face of the upper stratum closing off, at least partially, the upper opening, when the upper opening is observed, along its axis, from the lower duct.

Provided are a coating structure, a turbine part having the same, and a method for manufacturing the coating structure. The coating structure is provided on a surface of a base portion including a ceramic matrix composite. The coating structure is layered on the surface of the base portion, and includes a bond coat layer formed of a rare-earth silicate and a top coat layer layered on the bond coat layer. The residual stress present in the bond coat layer is compressive residual stress. The oxygen permeability coefficient of the bond coat layer is no greater than 10.sup.−9 kg.Math.m.sup.−1.Math.s.sup.−1 at a temperature of not lower than 1200° C. and a higher oxygen partial pressure of not less than 0.02 MPa. The bond coat layer may contain carbonitride particles or carbonitride whiskers.

Provided are a coating structure, a turbine part having the same, and a method for manufacturing the coating structure. The coating structure is provided on a surface of a base portion including a ceramic matrix composite. The coating structure is layered on the surface of the base portion, and includes a bond coat layer formed of a rare-earth silicate and a top coat layer layered on the bond coat layer. The residual stress present in the bond coat layer is compressive residual stress. The oxygen permeability coefficient of the bond coat layer is no greater than 10.sup.−9 kg.Math.m.sup.−1.Math.s.sup.−1 at a temperature of not lower than 1200° C. and a higher oxygen partial pressure of not less than 0.02 MPa. The bond coat layer may contain carbonitride particles or carbonitride whiskers.

In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing customized ceramic labial/lingual orthodontic brackets by additive manufacturing may comprise measuring dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, based on the dentition data, creating a three dimensional computer-assisted design (3D CAD) model of the patient's teeth, and saving the 3D CAD model, designing a virtual 3D CAD bracket structure model for a single labial or lingual bracket structure based upon said 3D CAD model, importing data related to the 3D CAD bracket structure model into an additive manufacturing machine, and directly producing the bracket with the additive manufacturing machine by layer manufacturing from an inorganic material including at least one of a ceramic, a polymer-derived ceramic, and a polymer-derived metal.

A powder formed of fused particles. More than 95% by number of the feed particles exhibiting a circularity of greater than or equal to 0.85. The powder contains more than 88% of a silicate of one or more elements chosen from Zr, Hf, Y, Ce, Sc, In, La, Gd, Nd, Sm, Dy, Er, Yb, Eu, Pr, Ho and Ta, less than 10% of a dopant, as percentage by weight based on the oxides. The powder has a median particle size D.sub.50 of less than 15 μm, a 90 percentile particle size, D.sub.90, of less than 30 μm, and a size dispersion index (D.sub.90-D.sub.10)/D.sub.10 of less than 2. The powder has a relative density of greater than 90%. The D.sub.n percentiles of the powder are the particle sizes corresponding to the percentages, by number, of n %, on the cumulative distribution curve of the size of the particles of the powder. The particle sizes are classified in increasing order.

A powder formed of fused particles. More than 95% by number of the feed particles exhibiting a circularity of greater than or equal to 0.85. The powder contains more than 88% of a silicate of one or more elements chosen from Zr, Hf, Y, Ce, Sc, In, La, Gd, Nd, Sm, Dy, Er, Yb, Eu, Pr, Ho and Ta, less than 10% of a dopant, as percentage by weight based on the oxides. The powder has a median particle size D.sub.50 of less than 15 μm, a 90 percentile particle size, D.sub.90, of less than 30 μm, and a size dispersion index (D.sub.90-D.sub.10)/D.sub.10 of less than 2. The powder has a relative density of greater than 90%. The D.sub.n percentiles of the powder are the particle sizes corresponding to the percentages, by number, of n %, on the cumulative distribution curve of the size of the particles of the powder. The particle sizes are classified in increasing order.

This technology is directed to the preparation of doped-bismuth-silicate seed crystals through controlled crystallization (e.g. dimensionality of growth and nucleation mechanism) and the method of forming high purity single seed (particle size ranges from micrometers to millimeters) for various uses. These seed crystals have a nominal stoichiometry of Bi.sub.2-xA.sub.xSiO.sub.5, Bi.sub.2-xA.sub.xSi.sub.3O.sub.9, Bi.sub.4-xA.sub.xSi.sub.3O.sub.9, and Bi.sub.12-xA.sub.xSiO.sub.20, where A is a rare earth dopant selected from La, Ce, Nd, Pr, and/or Sm.

This technology is directed to the preparation of doped-bismuth-silicate seed crystals through controlled crystallization (e.g. dimensionality of growth and nucleation mechanism) and the method of forming high purity single seed (particle size ranges from micrometers to millimeters) for various uses. These seed crystals have a nominal stoichiometry of Bi.sub.2-xA.sub.xSiO.sub.5, Bi.sub.2-xA.sub.xSi.sub.3O.sub.9, Bi.sub.4-xA.sub.xSi.sub.3O.sub.9, and Bi.sub.12-xA.sub.xSiO.sub.20, where A is a rare earth dopant selected from La, Ce, Nd, Pr, and/or Sm.

A method of manufacturing pre-formed, customized, ceramic, labial/lingual orthodontic clear aligner attachments (CCAA) by additive manufacturing (AM) may comprise measuring dentition data of a profile of teeth of a patient, based on the dentition data, creating a three dimensional computer-assisted design (3D CAD) model of the patient's teeth using reverse engineering, and saving the 3D CAD model, designing a 3D CAD structure model for one or more CCAA on various parts of each tooth, importing data related to the 3D CAD CCAA structure model into an AM machine, directly producing the CCAA in the ceramic slurry-based AM machine by layer manufacturing, enabling the provider to deliver patient-specific CCAA's by an indirect bonding method to the patient's teeth to improve the efficacy and retention of the clear aligners.

A ferrite composition includes main-phase particles, first sub-phase particles, second sub-phase particles, and a grain boundary. At least 10% or more of the main-phase particles contain a portion whose Zn concentrations monotonously decrease from a particle surface toward a particle central part along a length of 50 nm or more. The first sub-phase particles contain Zn.sub.2SiO.sub.4. The second sub-phase particles contain SiO.sub.2. A total area ratio of the first sub-phase particles and the second sub-phase particles is 30.5% or more.