TY - CONF A1 - Höhne, Patrick A1 - Kuchenbecker, Petra A1 - Rabe, Torsten T1 - Superior granule properties by spray drying controlled destabilized slurries with ultrasound N2 - Homogeneous introduction of organic additives is a key of ceramic powder processing. Addition of organics to ceramic slurries holds advantages compared to dry processing like organic content reduction and a more homogeneous additive distribution on the particle surface. Investigations of the alumina slurries were primarily based on zeta potential measurements and sedimentation analysis by optical centrifugation. Both methods were combined to determine a suitable additive type, amount and composition, whereas the spray drying suitability has been ensured by viscosity measurements. Granules, yielded by spray drying of such ideally dispersed alumina slurries, are mostly hollow and possess a hard shell. Those granules cannot easily be processed and can only hardly be destroyed in the following shaping step, leading to sinter bodies with many defects and poor strength and density. The precise slurry destabilization, carried out after ideally dispersing the ceramic powder, shows a strong influence on the drying behavior of the granules and hence on the granule properties. A promising degree of destabilization and partial flocculation was quantified by optical centrifugation and resulted in improved granule properties. Spray drying the destabilized alumina slurries yielded homogeneous “non-hollow” granules without the above mentioned hard shell. Sample bodies produced of these granules exhibited a reduction of defect size and number, leading to better results for sinter body density and strength. The positive effect of the slurry destabilization has been further improved, by exchanging the atomizing unit from a two-fluid one to an ultrasound atomizer with only minor slurry adjustments necessary. The controlled destabilization and ultrasound atomization of the ceramic slurry show excellent transferability for zirconia and even ZTA (zirconia toughened alumina) composite materials. T2 - Partec 2019 CY - Nuremberg, Germany DA - 09.04.2019 KW - Destabilization KW - Slurry KW - Ultrasound KW - Atomization PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48291 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Höhne, Patrick A1 - Mieller, Björn A1 - Rabe, Torsten T1 - Small batch preparation of ready-to-press powder for systematic studies N2 - Efficient studies of scarce or expensive materials require material saving processes. Therefore, a high yield concept for small batch preparation of ready-to-press powder is exemplarily presented for yttria stabilized nano-zirconia (d50 < 50 nm). The concept involves small batch preparation in an ultrasound resonator, dispersant selection based on zeta potential measurements, evaluation of slurry stability using an analytical centrifuge, and preparation of ready-to-press powder by freeze drying. Freeze drying offers key advantages. Process efficiency and high yield above 95 % are independent of sample size. The dried product does not require further mechanical treatment like milling or grinding. Side effects like migration of additives are avoided. An optimized freeze drying process tolerates slurries with moderate stability. Thus, efforts for slurry development can be reduced. Generally, identifying a suitable dispersing agent requires only 3-5 zeta potential measurements. Slurry stability is rechecked using an analytical centrifuge, which also accounts for steric stabilization. An ultrasound resonator is used to disperse the powder without contamination, which becomes critical for small batches. The described route is exemplarily presented for the development of an additive recipe for nano-sized zirconia powder, targeting for good pressing behavior and high green density. Therefore, a variety of binding and lubricating agents were tested. Following the presented route, 80 g zirconia powder were sufficient to conduct a study including slurry development and five sample sets with varying composition, each set comprising five discs (d = 20 mm and h = 2 mm). T2 - 94. DKG Jahrestagung CY - Leoben, Austria DA - 05.05.2019 KW - Fine Powder KW - Slurry KW - Freeze Drying PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-48293 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -