Cermet

A cermet is a composite material composed of ceramic (cer) and metallic (met) materials. A cermet is ideally designed to have the optimal properties of both a ceramic, such as high temperature resistance and hardness, and those of a metal, such as the ability to undergo plastic deformation. The metal is used as a binder for an oxide, boride, or carbide. Generally, the metallic elements used are nickel, molybdenum, and cobalt. Depending on the physical structure of the material, cermets can also be metal matrix composites, but cermets are usually less than 20% metal by volume.

Cermets are used in the manufacture of resistors (especially potentiometers), capacitors, and other electronic components which may experience high temperatures.

Cermets are being used instead of tungsten carbide in saws and other brazed tools due to their superior wear and corrosion properties. Titanium nitride (TiN), Titanium carbonitride (TiCN), titanium carbide (TiC) and similar can be brazed like tungsten carbide if properly prepared however they require special handling during grinding.

More complex materials, known as Cermet 2 or Cermet II, are being utilized since they give considerably longer life in cutting tools while both brazing and grinding like tungsten carbide.

Some types of cermets are also being considered for use as spacecraft shielding as they resist the high velocity impacts of micrometeoroids and orbital debris much more effectively than more traditional spacecraft materials such as aluminum and other metals.

History^[1]

After World War II, the need to develop high temperature and high stress-resistant materials in the US became clear. During the war, German scientists developed oxide base cermets as substitutes for alloys. They saw a use for this for the high-temperature sections of new jet engines as well as high temperature turbine blades. Today ceramics are routinely implemented in the combuster part of jet engines because it provides a heat resistant chamber. Ceramic turbine blades have also been developed. These blades are lighter than steel and allow for greater acceleration of the blade assemblies.

The United States Air Force saw potential in the material technology and became one of the principal sponsors for various research programs in the US. Some of the first universities to research were Ohio State University, University of Illinois, and Rutgers University.

The word cermet was actually coined by the United States Air Force, the idea being that they are a combination of two materials, a metal and a ceramic. Basic physical properties of metals include ductility, high strength, and high thermal conductivity. Ceramics possess basic physical properties such as a high melting point, chemical stability, and especially oxidation resistance.

The first ceramic metal material developed used magnesium oxide (MgO), Beryllium oxide (BeO), and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) for the ceramic part. Emphasis on high stress rupture strengths was around 980C.^[2] Ohio State University was the first to develop Al₂O₃ based cermets with high stress rupture strengths around 1200C. Kennametal, a metal-working and tool company based in Latrobe, PA, developed the first titanium carbide cermet with a 2800 psi and 100 hour stress-to-rupture strength at 980C. Jet engines operate at this temperature and further research was invested on using these materials for components.

Quality control in manufacturing these ceramic metal composites was hard to standardize. Production had to be kept to small batches and within these batches, the properties varied greatly. Failure of the material was usually a result of undetected flaws usually nucleated during processing.

The existing technology in the 1950s reached a limit for jet engines where little more could be improved. Subsequently, engine manufactures were reluctant to develop ceramic metal engines.

Interest was renewed in the 1960s when silicon nitride and silicon carbide were looked at more closely. Both materials possessed better thermal shock resistance, high strength, and moderate thermal conductivity.

Applications

Ceramic-to-metal joints and seals

Cermets were first used extensively in ceramic-to-metal joint applications. Construction of vacuum tubes was one of the first critical systems, with the electronics industry employing and developing such seals. German scientists recognized that vacuum tubes with improved performance and reliability could be produced by substituting ceramics for glass. Ceramic tubes can be outgassed at higher temperatures. Because of the high-temperature seal, ceramic tubes withstand higher temperatures than glass tubes. Ceramic tubes are also mechanically stronger and less sensitive to thermal shock than glass tubes.^[3] Today, cermet vacuum tube coatings have proved to be key to solar hot water systems.

Ceramic-to-metal mechanical seals have also been used. Traditionally they have been used in fuel cells and other devices that convert chemical, nuclear, or thermionic energy to electricity. The ceramic-to-metal seal is required to isolate the electrical sections of turbine-driven generators designed to operate in corrosive liquid-metal vapors.^[3]

Bioceramics

Bioceramics play an extensive role in biomedical materials. The development of these materials and diversity of manufacturing techniques has broadened the applications that can be used in the human body. They can be in the form of thin layers on metallic implants, composites with a polymer component, or even just porous networks. These materials work well within the human body for several reasons. They are inert, and because they are resorbable and active, the materials can remain in the body unchanged. They can also dissolve and actively take part in physiological processes, for example, when hydroxylapatite, a material chemically similar to bone structure, can integrate and help bone grow into it. Common materials used for bioceramics include alumina, zirconia, calcium phosphate, glass ceramics, and pyrolytic carbons.

One important use of bioceramics is in hip replacement surgery. A hip joint essentially is a multiaxial ball and socket. The materials used for the replacement hip joints were usually metals such as titanium with the hip socket usually lined with plastic. The multiaxial ball was tough metal ball but was eventually replaced with a longer lasting ceramic ball. This reduced the roughening associated with the metal wall against the plastic lining of the artificial hip socket. The use of ceramic implants extended the life of the hip replacement parts.^[4]

Cermets are also used in dentistry as a material for fillings and prostheses.

Transportation

Ceramic parts have been used in conjunction with metal parts as friction materials for brakes and clutches.^[3]

Other applications

The United States Army and British Army have had extensive research in the development of cermets. These include the development of lightweight ceramic projectile proof armor for soldiers and also Chobham armor.

Cermets are also used in machining on cutting tools.

A cermet of depleted fissiable material (e.g. uranium, plutonium) and sodalite has been researched for its benefits in the storage of nuclear waste.^[5] Similar composites have also been researched for use as a fuel source.^[6]

See also

• Glidcop
• Nuclear fuel
• Nuclear fuel cycle

Notes

1. ^ Tinklepaugh, James R.: "Cermets.", Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1960
2. ^ Metallurgical Concepts, "Creep and Stress Rupture". http://www.materialsengineer.com/CA-Creep-Stress-Rupture.htm
3. ^ ^{a b c} Pattee, H.E. "Joining Ceramics and Graphite to Other Materials, A Report." Office of Technology Utilization National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington D.C., 1968
4. ^ Design Fax Online, "Hybrid Hip Joint". http://www.manufacturingcenter.com/dfx/archives/0503/0503app_ideas.asp
5. ^ http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=APCPCS000532000001000089000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes
6. ^ http://e-archive.library.okstate.edu/mech_researchweek/2/

Further reading

• Tinklepaugh, James R. (1960). Cermets. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation. ASIN B0007E6FO4. 

External links

• A Review of Fifty Years of Space Nuclear Fuel Development Programs (broken)