Advanced Ceramics & Composites

Advanced Ceramics and Composites Division (ACCD) caters to develop technology oriented high quality research in the broad arena of advanced materials for high temperature applications. The on-going technology development and research efforts stem from a strong collaboration with the strategic agencies of the country, like DRDO, RCI, ISRO, DAE and many more. Typically, this division deals with the development of advanced ceramics and composites like silicon carbide, silicon nitride, silicon and aluminum oxy nitride, ceramic matrix composite, MAX phase ceramics, aluminum nitride, boron nitride and carbide ceramics, high entropy carbide and nitride ceramics, CNT, graphene and carbon fiber reinforced ceramic composite, MXene etc. ACCD also ventures in energy related materials based on advanced ceramics thin films, 2D nanosheets enabled composite for white light emissions, high temperature piezo-sensors, semiconducting and hydrogen storage materials etc. The division is equipped with processing bulk ceramic materials through traditional slip casting to advanced 3D-printing and micromachining, expertise ranging from conventional hard and brittle ceramic machining to laser assisted ductile mode machining for fabricating engineering components. Divisional facilities largely encompass controlled atmosphere processing of ceramics to characterizing mechanical behavior of both bulk and thin film ceramics and composites from room to high temperature, structure-property correlations of the materials. ACCD also has expertise for the development of functional porous nanomaterials for catalytic and separation (gas/liquid) based applications along with the utilization of agro- and industrial wastes for water decontamination and other value added products. Division also initiates activities like computational material design and assessment of material behavior. Some of the milestone products/technologies developed at the division are reaction bonded silicon carbide and nitride, C-fiber reinforced silicon matrix composite brake disk and jet-ven, coating from pre-ceramic polymer for white light, porous silicon nitride tube for hot gas filtration, SiAlON based cutting tools, hexagonal boron nitride powder, biomorphic SiC ceramic composite materials, silicon nitride ball-bearing, zeolite based membrane for gas and liquid separation.  Currently, the division has a strength of seven scientists, seven technical officers, and four technicians.

• Processing of advanced ceramic and composite materials: Processing activities include processing of super hard ceramic using both conventional (slip casting, powder shaping and sintering) and non-conventional (additive manufacturing) of SiC, Si₃N₄, B₄C, TiC, SiAlON and AlON ceramics, UHTC composites, MAX phase ceramics, C_f-SiC, Grpahene-metal & ceramic composites, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), AlN and high entropy ceramics for strategic, structural and energy applications. Processing of ceramic thin films and coating from pre-ceramic precursor using CVD methods, like SiC, SiO_xC_y and coating for cutting tool applications are also one of the key focus areas of the advanced ceramics and composite divisions. Processing of nanomaterial synthesis by sol-gel based wet-chemical methods for waste water treatment and catalytic application is another activity of ACCD. Utilization of agro- and industrial wastes toward value added products is the new activity of the division. Divisions also try to build up expertise in the area of computational material design.
• Advanced machining: Division also engages in fabrication of components from brittle and hard materials made by advanced machining facilities like abrasive water jet machining, precision grinding and polishing, CNC machining lathe, vertical milling machine, laser assisted ductile mode machining, and, near-net-shaping of precision optics glass lenses.
• Characterizations: ACCD further looks into characterization of mechanical behavior, structural, thermal, opto-electronic behavior of materials along with development of structure-property correlation. Typical examples are mechanical behavior of materials from room to high temperature using universal testing machine, micro to nanohardness, high temperature nanoindentation, oxidation studies, wear and friction behavior at ambient and controlled environment with temperature dependence study, spectroscopy studies and microstructural characterization.

• Dense silicon nitride and sialon wear resistant components
• Reaction bonded silicon nitride components
• Hexagonal boron nitride powder
• Dense reaction bonded silicon carbide composite materials (covered by : Indian Patent, 226270, 16 December, 2008)
• Carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide components
• Biomorphic SiC ceramic composite materials
• Porous SiC ceramics
• SiSiC ceramic composite using processed bio-precursors

Ongoing Projects

Dr. Milan Kanti Naskar,
Chief Scientist & Professor (AcSIR)
Head, Advanced Ceramics & Composites Division
Phone: (033) 23223516
Fax: +91-33-24730957
E-mail: milan@cgcri.res.in