Application of artificial intelligence control to the vapor-liquid-solid silicon carbide whisker process

Conference · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5058537

Shalek, P D; Parkinson, W J

Silicon carbide whiskers have excellent mechanical and chemical properties, making them very desirable as a reinforcement for structural ceramic and other composite materials. Los Alamos has developed a laboratory-scale batch process for producing very high quality SiC whiskers by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method which is an active candidate for technology transfer involving significant scale-up. The process, however, involves quite complex chemical/physical and parametric relationships and has not as yet lent itself successfully to modeling. An expert computer system was therefore developed to facilitate the transfer of this technology to industry. Optimum conditions were determined by relating the many process parameters to product results to establish a set of rules for running the process. These are incorporated in a two-phase expert system designed to guide inexperienced users. In Phase 1, an expert consultant program provides the user with information that enables him to set up the run. This information is incorporated into the rule base that makes up Phase 2 --- the control system. At present, the operator functions as the controller by responding to the decisions of the expert system; automation can be added later. 13 refs., 16 figs.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/FE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5058537
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-90-33; CONF-891119-93; ON: DE90007835
• Resource Relation: Conference: Materials Research Society fall meeting, Boston, MA (USA), 27 Nov - 2 Dec 1989
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
CRYSTAL GROWTH METHODS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
SILICON CARBIDES
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
CATALYSTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
EXPERT SYSTEMS
FIBERS
PHASE DIAGRAMS
SILICON OXIDES
WHISKERS
CARBIDES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CRYSTALS
DIAGRAMS
MONOCRYSTALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
360201* - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Preparation & Fabrication
360202 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Structure & Phase Studies