Transparent Alumina Ceramics Fabricated Using 3D Printing and Vacuum Sintering
Date
2020-04
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New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Inamori School of Engineering.
Abstract
Transparent alumina ceramics were fabricated using an extrusion-based 3D printer and post-processing steps, including debinding, vacuum sintering, and polishing. Printable slurry recipes and 3D printing parameters were optimized to fabricate quality green bodies of varying shapes and sizes. Post-process two-step vacuum sintering was found to increase density while reducing grain size and thus improving the transparency of the sintered alumina ceramics in comparison to single-step sintering. The 3D printed and two-step vacuum sintered alumina ceramics achieved greater than 99% relative density and total transmittance values of approximately 61% at 400 nm and 70% at 800 nm and above, which was comparable to that of conventional CIP processed alumina ceramics. This demonstrates the capability of 3D printing to compete with conventional transparent ceramic forming methods along with the additional benefits of freedom of design, production of complex shapes, and others.
Description
Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering at the Inamori School of Engineering, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
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Keywords
Transparent ceramics, Three-dimensional printing, Sintering