Research
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Research at the Swedish Ceramic Institute is
carried out in the form of Programme Research, National
Projects, International Projects and Separate Projects
(Confidential Contract Work).
SCI is in many cases part of a major national or
international cooperative project/network.
The research is above all funded by The Swedish
Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA), IRECO Holding AB, EU (CORDIS),
The Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen) and The Swedish
Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten).
The Swedish Ceramic Institute works with different
materials for various applications within the
following areas:
Engineering Ceramics
Electroceramics
Functional Ceramics
Bioceramics
Traditional Ceramics
Powder Metallurgy (PM) including biometals
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Engineering
Ceramics
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Silicon carbide, silicon nitride, sialons and
zirconium dioxide are referred to as engineering ceramics.
These relatively new ceramic materials have high strength,
high temperature resistance, high wear resistance and good corrosion resistance. These materials are therefore
used in various mechanical devices, such as sealing rings,
engine parts, ball bearings and cutting tools.
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Electroceramics
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Electroceramics are used in a large number of
applications in which the electrical properties are required
whereas the mechanical properties are less important. Some
of the most important applications are substrates,
capacitors, insulators,
piezoceramics, and
magnets.
Link to further information
on electroceramics.
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Functional
Ceramics
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Functional ceramics is a term used for those
applications in which the ceramics are not chosen because of
their mechanical or electrical properties. Other properties
are crucial, such as oxygen and ion conductivity or the optical
properties. The microstructure and the grain boundary phase often decide the
properties of these materials, a feature they often have in
common. Sensors, catalytic converters and fuel
cells are some examples of applications in which functional
ceramics are used.
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Bioceramics
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Ceramic materials used in medical
applications vary from being almost inert to resorbent and
the biological response can to a certain extent be influenced
through the choice of material.
We work with bioceramic materials including oxide
ceramics and calcium phosphates such as hydroxyapatite and
tricalcium phosphate.
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Traditional
Ceramics
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Tableware and sanitaryware, electrical
insulators, tiles, clinkers and
refractories are usually referred to as traditional
ceramics. Cements and concrete, glass and enamels
along with various types of inorganic binders can be
included in this group as well. These ceramic materials are traditional in the
sense that they are well established and have been used
commercially for a long period of time. The mechanical
properties of these materials are considerably lower than
those of the engineering ceramics, but, at the same time,
they are not used in applications in which they
are exposed to high mechanical loads. On the other hand, the
thermal properties (incl. thermal shock resistance) may be
critical. The price of the material is usually important as
well.
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Powder Metallurgy (PM)
including Biometals
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The Swedish Ceramic Institute has long
experience of working with powder forming of ceramic
materials. Titanium
is a very interesting metal as it is tissue-friendly and heals
well into
the body (a so called biometal). Titanium's good mechanical properties make it an
attractive candidate for certain bioapplications. Pressing, injection moulding and direct consolidation are
examples of techniques we have used for forming metal
powders.
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