The integration of artificial intelligence for predictive modeling and adaptive learning allows manufacturers to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and precision in ceramic additive manufacturing products.

Custom equipment designed for the deposition of exotic materials allows advanced coating solutions and ceramic matrix composites to be utilized for applications in automotive, aerospace, defense, energy, and the farthest reaches of space. This article describes custom systems for chemical vapor deposition and advanced materials processing.

Titanium boron composite coatings with superior wear performance were selected for use in materials experiments on the International Space Station. The titanium-boron nitride composite coatings were prepared using an atmospheric plasma spray technique from engineered composite powders. The coatings were subjected to extensive characterization and tribological studies. The results show tremendous improvement in the wear performance.

This article reviews additive manufacturing technologies that can be used for manufacturing ceramics and ceramic-based composites. Stereolithography and associated techniques offer the possibility of producing ceramic components with finer resolution. Powder-based techniques like binder jetting and indirect selective laser sintering can be used for designing porous ceramics. Selective laser melting offers practitioners the option of manufacturing ceramics with minimal post-processing requirements, although further research is needed to decrease its cost.

Processes such as combustion, calcination, thermal cracking, and gasification are typically carried out in industrial plants featuring kilns, rotary kilns, or drying ovens. The dynamic, high-temperature process of horizontal contact drying makes it possible to treat bulk materials more efficiently and evenly than traditional drying ovens and rotary kilns.

New research explores a zirconia-based shape memory ceramic that exhibits a unique type of electrically triggered martensitic transformation.

Techniques for the 3D printing of ceramics are evolving beyond product development and prototypes to enable full production-scale operations. This article gives examples of available methods and tradeoffs that must be addressed in developing 3D printing systems for ceramics.

Aerosol deposition offers an alternative to conventional thin film processes when mesoscale coatings are needed. The process is being used to create readily integrated, high density ceramic and metallic thick films on a variety of substrates at room temperature.

The discovery of new phases of carbon and direct conversion of carbon into diamond and diamond-like materials—at ambient conditions and without a catalyst—is a breakthrough with tremendous potential for electronics and hard-materials applications.

Capable of stopping 50-caliber, armor-piercing rounds, ALON and Spinel are hard and durable transparent polycrystalline materials manufactured using powder based processes. This article describes their unique combination of mechanical, optical, and chemical properties, and reports on recent advances in manufacturing to enable their use for critical defense, industrial, and consumer applications.

Heat shields help protect vehicle-critical components that could delaminate and fail if exposed to high temperatures for any length of time. This article describes a solution that features ceramic platelets applied via plasma spray onto a metal substrate to create a heat shield that adds additional temperature resistance in comparison to standard pressed aluminum versions.

Zircotec Ltd., UK, originally developed its technologies for use in nuclear reactors. During the last decade, its coatings have been used in several other applications, including orthopedic implants, and the company has expanded into the defense sector with a greater emphasis on heat protection. This Technical Spotlight outlines some of the company's process capabilities.

An integrated strategy for the development of thermally sprayed functional oxide coatings is presented in this article. Strontium-doped lanthanum manganite (LSM), a prototypical functional oxide, was selected to demonstrate the approach.

New thermal spray methods optimized for the production of functional coatings are bridging the gap between traditional thermal spraying and thin-film deposition technologies. Two such methods, one known alternately as very low pressure plasma spraying (VLPPS) or plasma spray-physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD) and one called thin-film thermal spray chemical vapor deposition (CVD), are briefly reviewed here.

Clearance-control coatings play a major role in gas turbine engines by minimizing the air gap between rotating blade tips and engine casings. An improvement of just 125 µm can reduce fuel consumption by 0.5%. This article discusses the potential impact of new materials being considered for blade tip coating systems, including NiCoCrAlY bond coats and matrix layers with Hf, Re, or Si additions for better oxidation and creep resistance, embedded angular CBN particles for enhanced incursion of abradable shroud coatings, and double or Pt aluminide topcoats for extended oxidation protection.

This article discusses the influence of water vapor on the performance of YSZ thermal barrier coatings, particularly the oxidation resistance of the bond coat.

Nano-scratch testing can be tailored to quantify the adhesion strength of small-scale surface formations, deposits, and structures on a wide range of materials. This article describes the basic measurement technique and presents examples showing how it has been used to evaluate the bonding characteristics of plasma-sprayed Al 2 O 3 splats on steel, osteoblast cells on hydroxyapatite-based coatings, and carbon nanotubes on copper and silicon substrates.

This article provides a brief overview of the applications of multimodal alumina-titania (n-AT) coatings stemming from a five-year program on thermal spray nanocoatings sponsored by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR). In the main example, plasma sprayed n-AT coatings are applied to the propulsion shafts of Mine Countermeasure ships, bringing a fourfold increase in service life.

This article explains how coating technology originally developed for use in nuclear power generating equipment is helping automotive engineers solve heat, wear, and performance challenges using new materials and design approaches.

A novel brazing approach for joining SiC-based fuel cladding is a promising technology for enhanced accident-tolerant nuclear fuels.