A novel processing approach for free-standing porous non-oxide ceramic supports from polycarbosilane and polysilazane precursors
In this contribution, a low-pressure/low-temperature casting technique for the preparation of novel free-standing macrocellular polymer-derived ceramic support structures is presented. Preceramic polymers (polycarbosilane and poly(vinyl)silazane) are combined with sacrificial porogens (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene microbeads) to yield porous ceramic materials in the Si—C or Si—C—N systems, exhibiting well-defined pore structures after thermal conversion. The planar-disc-type specimens were found to exhibit biaxial flexural strengths of up to 60 MPa. In combination with their observed permeability characteristics, the prepared structures were found to be suitable for potential applications in filtration, catalysis, or membrane science.
Design of ceramic membrane supports: permeability, tensile strength and stress
A membrane support provides mechanical strength to a membrane top layer to withstand the stress induced by the pressure difference applied over the entire membrane and must simultaneously have a low resistance to the filtrate flow. In this paper an experimental and a theoretical approach toward the design of a ceramic membrane support are combined. In the experimental part, the influence of the particle size, sintering time and sintering temperature on the permeability and strength of supports made by colloidal processing of submicron-sized alumina powders is investigated and compared with dry-pressed samples. In the theoretical part, a condensed expert system is set up that comprises the main relations necessary to describe the maximum filtrate flow of an incompressible fluid through a multilayered tubular inorganic membrane. The model can be adapted to describe other geometries and fluids. From calculations it becomes clear that optimum values exist for the dimensions and material properties of the support. Hence, support design is not straightforward and needs a comprehensive approach incorporating simultaneously all relevant design characteristics.
Traceability strategy for gear-pitch-measuring instruments: development and calibration of a multiball artifact
There is a strong demand to ensure the traceability of gear-measuring instruments (GMIs). We propose a multiball artifact (MBA) for the evaluation of pitch-measuring accuracy. The aim of the MBA is to transfer the minimum uncertainty from a calibrated value at the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ) to a measured value of GMIs at a shop floor. The MBA is composed of equally spaced high-accuracy balls around an axis. The pitch-measuring accuracy of GMIs is evaluated by measuring the angular pitch deviation of the balls instead of the angular pitch deviation of a gear. We calibrated the angular pitch deviation using a coordinate measuring instrument (CMM) at the NMIJ and adapting a multiple-orientation technique. We proposed a calibration strategy of the angular pitch deviation. The calibration value of the pitch deviation for the MBA at the NMIJ was obtained with a measurement uncertainty (U95) of 0.2 µm. We evaluated the pitch-measuring accuracy of a GMI using the calibrated MBA. Each value of U95 for the cumulative and single pitch deviations for the left and right flanks was less than or equal to 0.5 µm. The small uncertainty was transferred from the NMIJ to the GMI.