Process Creates Ceramics That Won't Shrink Or Change Shape

an archive of past stories) (a reporter's guide to the disease) (a magazine produced by the College of Biological Sciences) COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Researchers at Ohio State University have developed a new technique for creating near net-shaped ceramic parts for high-tech devices like fuel cells, medical implants, cellular phones, gas or temperature sensors, and even automobile engines. Manufacturers of expensive, complex-shaped ceramic components must fire freshly-molded parts at high temperatures in order to obtain a ceramic body that is free of pores. This pore-filling process, called sintering, shrinks the parts. Sometimes the ceramic part shrinks nonuniformly, which causes it to deform and develop cracks. “Most people won’t notice if cups and saucers vary a few millimeters from their ideal proportions, but the ceramics used in a number of advanced devices won’t work well unless they conform to exactly the right size and shape,” said Ken Sandhage, associate professor