High-performance ceramics

High-performance ceramics are very frequently used as structural ceramics in applications with tribological stresses because they are temperature-resistant, media-resistant and wear-resistant. They also enable very low coefficients of friction - down to superlubricity - and help to improve energy efficiency in tribological systems.

The safe use and exploitation of the advantages of ceramics require not only tribological optimization, but also a design that is as suitable as possible for the material on the basis of the material characteristics.

We help ceramic manufacturers to optimize their materials with regard to specific applications. We test and simulate ceramic materials and components in real-world applications for users of ceramic components

R&D services concerning high-performance ceramics for your company 

Mechanical tests

• Mechanical strength and modulus of elasticity at temperatures up to 1200 °C
• Fracture toughness with the SEVNB and CNB method
• Dynamic and cyclic strength, subcritical crack growth
• Biaxial strength: ball-on-3-balls test

Tribological component testing

• Testing of mechanical seals at pressures up to 15 bar and temperatures up to 120 °C
• Testing of rolling and plain bearings
• Mechanical seals under electrochemical influence
• Bearing testing at high temperatures

Damage analyses

• Damage analysis according to VDI guideline 3822
• Ceramography and fractography

Material and component simulation

Modeling with finite elements:

• Load analyses with and without tribological contact
• Crack growth in ceramic microstructures
• Reliability and service life

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Selected research projects 

Tribological investigations of diamond-SiC composites for applications in the deep sea 

Extracting raw materials from the sea requires systems that can be operated underwater. The requirements in terms of service life and reliability are extreme. Materials and components that can meet these requirements are needed for media-lubricated plain bearings and mechanical seals. Components made of SiC-bonded diamond were developed for this purpose in a joint research project.

Increasing the energy efficiency of water-lubricated friction pairings in pumps

A significant part of the energy consumption in pumps is due to friction losses in the plain bearings and mechanical seals. Although energy consumption has been significantly reduced in recent years through friction optimization, there is still a need for new solutions to minimize friction and thus improve the efficiency of pumps. In the EWARP joint research project, so-called hard/soft pairings were considered, in which a DLC-coated sliding component is combined as an axial bearing, radial bearing or mechanical seal with a carbon graphite counter-rotor.

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Publications

• Presser, V; Krummhauer, O; Nickel, KG; Kailer, A; Berthold, C; Raisch, C; Tribological and hydrothermal behaviour of silicon carbide under water lubrication,Wear,266,7-8,771-781,2009,Elsevier
• Khader, I; Hashibon, A; Albina, J-M; Kailer, A; ,Wear and corrosion of silicon nitride rolling tools in copper rolling,Wear,271,9-10,2531-2541,2011,Elsevier
• Presser, V; Nickel, KG; Krummhauer, O; Kailer, A; ,A model for wet silicon carbide tribo-corrosion,Wear,267,1-4,168-176,2009,Elsevier
• Presser, V; Krummhauer, O; Kailer, A; Nickel, KG; ,In situ monitoring and depth-resolved characterization of wet wear of silicon carbide,Wear,271,9-10,2665-2672,2011,Elsevier
• Kailer, A; Amann, T; Krummhauer, O; Herrmann, M; Sydow, U; Schneider, M; ,Influence of electric potentials on the tribological behaviour of silicon carbide,Wear,271,9-10,1922-1927,2011,Elsevier
• Nickel, KG; Presser, V; Krummhauer, O; Kailer, A; Wirth, R; ,Hydrothermal oxidation of silicon carbide and its bearing on wet wear mechanism,"Corrosion, Wear, Fatigue, and Reliability of Ceramics, Volume 29, Issue 3",,3,143,2009,John Wiley & Sons
• Khader, Iyas; Renz, Alexander; Kailer, Andreas; Haas, Daniel; ,Thermal and corrosion properties of silicon nitride for copper die casting components,Journal of the European Ceramic Society,33,3,593-602,2013,Elsevier
• Khader, Iyas; Kürten, Dominik; Kailer, Andreas; ,A study on the wear of silicon nitride in rolling–sliding contact,Wear,296,1-2,630-637,2012,Elsevier
• Franco Steier, Volker; Koplin, Christof; Kailer, Andreas; ,Influence of pressure-assisted polymerization on the microstructure and strength of polymer-infiltrated ceramics,Journal of materials science,48,,3239-3247,2013,Springer US
• Schröder, Christian; Renz, Alexander; Koplin, Christof; Kailer, Andreas; ,Assessment of low-temperature degradation of Y-TZP ceramics based on Raman-spectroscopic analysis and hardness indentation,Journal of the European Ceramic Society,34,16,4311-4319,2014,Elsevier
• Amann, Tobias; Kailer, Andreas; Herrmann, Mathias; ,Influence of electrochemical potentials on the tribological behavior of silicon carbide and diamond-coated silicon carbide,Journal of Bio-and Tribo-Corrosion,1,,1-14,2015,Springer International Publishing
• Renz, Alexander; Khader, Iyas; Kailer, Andreas; ,Tribochemical wear of cutting-tool ceramics in sliding contact against a nickel-base alloy,Journal of the European Ceramic Society,36,3,705-717,2016,Elsevier

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