| abstract • the speaker • poster |
| slides: part 1 • part 2 |
Abstract
Alumina-Zirconia composites are an important family of structural
ceramics materials due to their high strength and toughness
properties. These materials are of particular interest to us in India
since we are richly endowed with excellent deposits of zircon and
bauxite, the natural sources of zirconia and alumina respectively. In
order to achieve better properties in the final product, colloidal
processing has several advantages over conventional dry processing
route. The salient findings of our research work on the colloidal
processing of alumina-zirconia ceramics are presented in this
colloquium. These include:
• Experimental investigations on and theoretical models for the
dispersion and rheology of mixed alumina-zirconia suspensions.
• Design of tailor-made dispersants based on a molecular modeling
approach.
• Dispersion and consolidation of concentrated alumina-zirconia
suspensions in order to produce a homogeneous, defect-free green
compact including determination of the extent of dispersion and
modeling the role of powder size, packing, solid loading, relative
proportion of the constituents and surface-colloidal properties of
powders obtained from different sources.
• Population balance modeling and computer-aided control of the
evolution of microstructure during sintering of green compacts.
This research program was partially supported by Department of Science
and Technology (DST) and National Institute of Standards & Technology
(NIST) under the auspices of Indo-US Co-operative Research and
executed in collaboration with NIST. The presentation is based on the
work carried out our research group consisting of several colleagues
of mine, over a period of several years. Their efforts and
contributions as well as financial support from DST/NIST are
gratefully acknowledged.
Key Publications from this Group on this Topic.
The Speaker
Pradip, currently the Group Leader, Materials and Minerals Processing
Technology Group at Tata Research Development & Design Centre (TRDDC),
Pune, received his B.Tech in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT,
Kanpur in 1975 and M.S. & Ph.D. in Materials Science and Mineral
Engineering from University of California at Berkeley in 1977 and 1981
respectively. He also spent three years as a scientific officer at
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) before joining TRDDC in 1984. His
main areas of research include particle science & technology, mineral
processing, design and development of performance chemicals based on
molecular modeling, applied surface and colloid chemistry,
mathematical modeling & simulation of particulate processing systems,
colloidal processing of advanced ceramics, waste recycling and cement
chemistry.
With more than 125 publications and ten patents to his credit, Pradip
is the recipient of several honors including National Metallurgist
Award, Kuczynski Prize of International Institute of Science of
Sintering (IISS). Pradip is Fellow of Indian National Academy of
Engineering (FNAE), Indian Institute of Metals (FIIM) and Institute of
Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), UK. He is associate editor of
International Journal of Mineral Processing and Transactions, Indian
Institute of Metals–The International J. Minerals, Metals and
Materials Engineering. He has edited several special issues of
international journals, the latest being the Special Issue of
Ferroelectrics on Selected Topics in Advanced Materials Research
(2004).