LEARNING OUTCOMES

Main objective of this course is the description of properties and characteristics of inorganic materials on the basis of relations between structure, microstructure and chemical and physical properties. Moreover correlation between contitutional properties and behaviour in service under different conditions are described.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

General characteristics of 2-component phase diagrams. Three-component phase diagrams. Gibbs triangle. Isothermal and isoplethal sections. Liquidus projections, primary solidification areas, solidification process. Isomorphous ternary systems. Two- and three-phase fields. Invariant ternary equilibria. Reaction scheme (Scheil diagrams). Examples of real ternary intermetallic and ceramic systems. Higher order systems.

Ceramic materials. Classification. Crystal structures: CsCl, NaCl, wurtzite, sfalerite, spinel, rutile, alumina, fluorite, perowskite, ecc. Silicates and their structures: ortosilicates, sorosilicates, ciclosilicates, fillosilicates, … SiO2 strucrures. Feldspar e zeolites. Kaolinite, Halloysite, Kyanite, Montmorillonite, … . Phase diagrams of ceramic systems: SiO2, SiO2-Al2O3, Fe2O3-SiO2, MgO-SiO2, CaO-MgO, CaO-SiO2, MgO-SiO2-Al2O3, K2O-SiO2-Al2O3, … Classical ceramics: earthenware, stoneware, porcellain, ... Advanced eramics: carbides, nitrides, borides, oxides, ....

Phase transitions: nucleation and growth, spinodal decomposition. Nucleation rate, growth rate, Avrami equation. Homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation. Growth mechanisms: diffused and planar interface, nucleation controlled and diffusion controlled growth.  T-T-T diagrams. Structure of glasses. Network formers e network modifiers. Phase diagrams for vitreous systems. Glass transition temperature. amorfous metals.

Surfaces and interfaces: thermodynamic properties. High temperature solid-liquid interactions. Wetting. Reactive, non-reactive and dissolutive wetting. Measurements of wetting and surface tension. “Case Studies”: Metal-ceramic surface interactions, phase diagrams applied to wetting and brazing processes.