Metallographic preparation techniques for ceramic materials

Conference · Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:6335430

Saenz, N T

With the increasing use of ceramic materials in many industrial areas, applied metallographic sample preparation techniques are used to produce true microstructural detail in ceramic materials. Due to the extreme hardness, porosity and brittleness of ceramic materials, improper ceramic preparation techniques tend to cause intergranular relief, grain plucking, grain fracturing, or other undesirable effects. Because of these inherent characteristics, care must be taken in the preparation of ceramic material. For example, defects such as cracking of the specimen can be initiated during the sectioning step and can also occur if improper mounting procedures are used. Pullout of grains which result from improper sectioning or a grinding technique that is too severe can also cause problems in later stages of preparation. To minimize any defects or a false microstructure, the metallographer must not only preform each step of sample preparation accurately, but must also have a clear understanding of the intended purpose for each specific sequence of preparation steps. 3 refs., 6 figs.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/CE
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6335430
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA-18470; CONF-901008-6; ON: DE91004742
• Resource Relation: Conference: Fall meeting of the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society on physical metallurgy and materials in conjunction with materials week and the material applications and services exposition, Detroit, MI (USA), 7-11 Oct 1990
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
CERAMICS
METALLOGRAPHY
SAMPLE PREPARATION
ABRASIVES
CERMETS
CLEANING
CUTTING
GRINDING
MICROSCOPES
MICROSTRUCTURE
MINIMIZATION
POLISHING
POROSITY
SILICON CARBIDES
THICKNESS
CARBIDES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
COMMINUTION
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DIMENSIONS
MACHINING
MATERIALS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SURFACE FINISHING
360201* - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Preparation & Fabrication
360202 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Structure & Phase Studies