5 Werkstofftechnik
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In powder bed Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies, a part is produced by depositing and piling up thin powder layers. In each layer, the cross section of the object to build is defined by locally consolidating the powder, by sintering/melting the material (powder bed fusion technologies) or by ink jetting a binder (binder jetting technologies).
These are already leading AM technologies for metals and polymers, thanks to their high productivity and scalability. The application of these techniques to most ceramics has been challenging so far, because of the challenges related to the deposition of homogeneous powder layers when using fine powders.
In this context, the "layerwise slurry deposition" (LSD) has been developed as a layer deposition method which enables the use of SLS/SLM and 3DP technologies for advanced ceramic materials. LSD consists in the layer-by-layer deposition of a ceramic slurry by means of a doctor blade. Each layer is deposited and dried to achieve a highly packed powder layer. The LSD offers high flexibility in the ceramic feedstock used, especially concerning material and particle size, and enables the production of parts with physical and mechanical properties comparable to pressed or slip-casted parts. In this presentation, the LSD technique will be introduced and several examples of application to porcelain, SiC and alumina products will be reported.
Methods and materials are presented here, which enable the manufacturing of fine structures using a 3D-printing method known as two-photon polymerization (2PP). As traditional photolithography methods for structuring ceramic slurries do not function with 2PP, due to light scattering on ceramic particles, a novel water-based photoresist with high ceramic loading of extremely well dispersed ceramic nano particles was developed. This photoresist is basically a ceramic slurry containing a photocurable agent and a photoinitiator to be crosslinkable with the 780 nm wavelength femtosecond laser light source of the 2PP machine. It is demonstrated that it is possible to gain a highly transparent and low viscous slurry suitable for 2PP processing. This work shows the development of the slurry, first printing results and the post-printing processes required to form three dimensional ceramic microstructures consisting of alumina toughened zirconia (ATZ).
The homogeneous introduction of organic additives is a prerequisite for good processability of ceramic powders during dry pressing. The addition of organic additives by wet route via ceramic slurries offers advantages over dry processing. The organic content can be reduced and a more homogeneous distribution of the additives on the particle surface is achieved. In addition to the measurements of zeta potential and viscosity, sedimentation analysis by optical centrifugation was also tested and successfully used to characterize the ceramic slurries and accurately evaluate of the suitability of different types, amounts, and compositions of organic additives.
Spray drying of well-stabilized slurries usually results in mostly hollow granules with a hard shell leading to sintered bodies with defects and reduced strength and density. By purposefully degrading the slurry stability after dispersion of the ceramic powder, the drying behavior of the granules in the spray drying process and thus the granule properties can be influenced. Destabilization of the slurry and thus partial flocculation was quantified by optical centrifugation. Spray drying of the destabilized alumina slurries resulted in "non-hollow" granules without the detrimental hard shell and thus improved granule properties.
Further improvement of the granules was achieved by installing ultrasonic atomization in the spray dryer. A narrower granule size distribution was achieved, which had a positive effect on, among other things, the flowability of the granules.
Specimens produced from this granules had fewer defects of smaller size, leading to better results for the density and strength of the sintered bodies. The observations made for alumina could be transferred to zirconia and as well to ZTA with 20 wt% zirconia.
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.
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).