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Title: Ceramic technology for advanced heat engines

Conference ·
OSTI ID:10188179
 [1];  [2]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
  2. Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)

The Ceramic Technology Project was initiated in 1983 for the purpose of developing highly reliable structural ceramics for applications in advanced heat engines, such as automotive gas turbines and advanced heavy duty diesel engines. The reliability problem was determined to be a result of uncontrolled populations of processing flaws in the brittle, flaw-sensitive materials, along with microstructural features, such as grain boundary phases, that contribute to time dependent strength reduction in service at high temperatures. The approaches taken to develop high reliability ceramics included the development of tougher materials with greater tolerance to microstructural flaws, the development of advanced processing technology to minimize the size and number of flaws, and the development of mechanical testing methodology and the characterization of time dependent mechanical behavior, leading to a life prediction methodology for structural ceramics. The reliability goals of the program were largely met by 1993, but commercial implementation of ceramic engine components has been delayed by the high cost of the components. A new effort in Cost Effective Ceramics for Heat Engines was initiated in 1993 and is expected to develop the manufacturing technology leading to an order of magnitude cost reduction. The program has been planned for a five year period.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
10188179
Report Number(s):
CONF-9310328-3; ON: DE95000950; TRN: 94:009268
Resource Relation:
Conference: 1993 science and technology alliance materials conference,Greensboro, NC (United States),27-29 Oct 1993; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English