Ceramics and Ceramic Composites Group

Vision 

To be leaders in the design, development, processing, characterization, and underlying science of ceramics and ceramic composite materials for energy and security applications. 

Mission 

To develop and apply conventional and novel processing routes to enable production and scale-up of next-generation ceramic materials and composites. Additionally, to use traditional and advanced characterization techniques to expand the underlying science of ceramic and ceramic composite materials for industrial, commercial, nuclear, and military applications. 

R&D Scope 

The science and technology related to advanced ceramics and ceramic composite materials have been among the core competencies of the Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD) for decades. The reestablishment of a group specifically dedicated to  ceramics now creates a cohesive R&D organization that leads research on both ceramic and ceramic composite materials; facilitates collaborations on ceramic-related problems; and targets strategic applications to apply our strong capabilities in this R&D area both internally and externally.  

Core Competencies 

• Ceramic powder synthesis 
• Slurry production and characterization 
• Processing (tape casting, roll to roll coating, slip casting, gel casting, screen printing, granulation, extrusion, additive manufacturing, CIP/HIP, CVD/CVI/FCVI) 
• Structural and engineering ceramics 
• Glass and glass ceramics 
• Refractory ceramics 
• Powder processing and sintering 
• Physical, mechanical, and thermal characterization and modeling with microstructural and failure analysis