OVERVIEW

The course is an introduction on the preparation, properties, structure and applications of ceramic materials. The study of the main stages of the ceramic process allows obtaining optimised structures and properties, in view of different applications.A second part of the course concerns ceramic materials used in a solid oxide fuel cell going into details of the structural requirements and on the ionic conductivity  of the state-of-art materials. The course is held in English.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Strutture cristalline dei ceramici. Diagrammi di fase per i ceramisti. Sinterizzazione . Sintesi di materiali ceramici altamente dispersi . Materiali ceramici densi . Proprietà strutturali, elettroniche e termiche . Difetti e controllo termodinamico della concentrazione delle vacanze strutturali. Proprietà funzionali (elettriche, agnetiche ed ambientali). Processi ceramic e applicazioni industriali. Crystal structure of ceramic. Phase diagrams for ceramist. Sintering. Synthesis of highly dispersed ceramic materials. Dense ceramic materials. Structural, electronic and thermal properties. Defects and thermodynamic control of vacancy concentration. Functional properties (electric, magnetic and environmental).Ceramic process and industrial applications

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Attendance and active participation in the proposed training activities (lectures, exercises and numerical exercises, laboratory exercises) and individual study will allow the student to:

have a basic understanding of the structure of ceramic materials;

understand the correlation between structure, microstructure, defects and properties

know traditional and advanced ceramic material used in building, industrial processes and energy production (ceramic fuel cells and electrolysers);

provide basic knowledge on the production processes and on the post-production treatments of the materials, highlighting the relationships between the production process and the mechanical or functional properties of the materials obtained;

PREREQUISITES

Basic knowledge of mathematics, chemistry and physics are required

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching includes lectures in the classroom and classroom exercises. The presentation of theoretical contents (40 hours) follows numerical application exercises. There are 5 hours of individual numerical exercises aimed at consolidating learning and 5 hours of practical activity in the laboratory

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Definition of ceramics, classification (traditional and advanced ceramic), elementary crystallography, general characteristic of ceramic materials, the stages of ceramic process.

Structural properties: crystal structure of ceramics, bonds, Pauling rule’s.

Silica polymorphism, structure of silicate, clay minerals.

Defect chemistry, Kroger-Vink notation and formulation of reaction equations. Thermodynamic control of vacancy concentration

Glass structure, Zachariasen rules, network forming, network modifier.

Glass formation, properties and effect of composition on glass characteristic, nucleation and growth, glass-ceramics.

Phase diagrams: phase rule, one-component systems, binary systems, ternary systems, lever rule, free-energy composition and temperature diagrams. Binary cases of interest for ceramist.

Examples of isopletal cooling and heating on ternary diagram of the most important ceramic system.

Ceramic processing: method of powder preparation, comminution, Particle size analysis, particle size distribution, packing of powders for refractory and advanced ceramic.

Stability of suspension, wetting, additive. General ceramic forming principles. Drying, Debonding and Firing.

Densification and coarsening: transport mechanism at the initial stage of sintering. Intermediate and final stage of sintering, grain growth and pore elimination. Sintering in presence of liquid phases

Operating principles of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and electrolysers (SOECs).

Cells design and features.

Defects and conductivity in the crystal structures of the state-of-art electrodes and electrolytes (perovskite- and fluorite-based materials).

Requirements and targets for intermediate-temperature SOFCs.

Degradation problems.

New families of materials.

Within the course there will be a seminar by Prof. Peter Holtappels, from the Department of Energy Conversion and Storage of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU, Roskilde, Denmark). The seminar-lesson will last two hours and will propose the following theme: "In operando electrochemical characterization of high temperature electrochemical cells: impedance and optical spectroscopy".

Laboratory training:  Green forming, Thermogravimetry, Dilatometry, SEM.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The teaching material used during the lessons is available in Aulaweb, as well as the numerical exercises proposed in previous years with the relative solutions. The notes taken during the lessons and the material available in aulaweb are sufficient for the preparation of the exam. The following books are suggested as supporting and in-depth analysis texts.

W.D. Kingery, H.K. Bowen, D.R. Uhlmann, Introduction to Ceramics, John Wiley & Sons.

A.J. Moulson & J.M. Herbert, Electroceramics, Chapman & Hall.

M.W. Barsoum,  Fundamentals of Ceramics

Y M  Chiang, D. Birnie III, W. D. Kyngery , Physical Ceramics

Introduction to Phase Equilibria in Ceramics

J.S. Reed, Principles of Ceramic Processing

• Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Materials Properties and Performance, CRC Press, Edited by J. W. Fergus et al.
• Fuel Cell Systems, Plenum Press, Edited by L. J. M. J. Blomen and M. N. Mugerwa

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

RODOLFO BOTTER (President)

MARIA PAOLA CARPANESE (President)

LESSONS

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The oral examination aims to assess the knowledge of the main characteristics of both traditional and advanced ceramic materials and of the relationships between chemical nature, structure and microstructure; knowledge of resistance properties, ionic and electronic conductivity and in general the functional properties of materials will be assessed too. The ability of modifying the parameters of a ceramic process in order to optimize the characteristics of a final product will also be evaluated. The exam includes the presentation of a topic of the course of student’s choice, or part of it, and is based on two questions. The first includes requests for further information or clarification on the topic presented while the second focuses on another topic of the course. The second question may contain requests for the resolution of simple numerical problems.

An exam session will be available for the 'winter' session (January, February and during the educational official break provided for Easter holydays) and a round for the 'summer' session (June, July, September and during the official autumn break). Session reopening can be scheduled by request of the students. The date of the possible reopening session is conveyed by Aulaweb. No extraordinary round will be granted outside the official periods indicated by the Polytechnic School, except for students who have not included in their study plan training activities in the current academic year.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The synthesis capability, speaking ability and correct use of technical terminology will be considered. Each question will be assigned a maximum of 16.5 points. The accuracy of the notions dealt with and the competence in solving problems of the type presented in class will be considered as well.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

For the academic year 2019-2020.

Within the course there will be a seminar by Prof. Peter Holtappels, from the Department of Energy Conversion and Storage of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU, Roskilde, Denmark). The seminar-lesson will last two hours and will propose the following theme: "Operando electrochemical characterization of high temperature electrochemical cells: impedance and optical spectroscopy".