Ceramic Foam Processing

A two-step processing route for ceramic foams has been developed at VITO, Materials Technology, Belgium. The ceramic foams have sufficient strength and controlled microstructures. The process involves preparing structures that are built up by ceramic hollow spheres with a fixed diameter and then connected together. The ceramic hollow spheres are produced using a sacrificial coating technique. These spheres are packed into a mold, joined together using a second slurry coating, calcined and finally, sintered. Lightweight materials with densities as low as 10% of theoretical density were obtained. For more information please contact J Luyten, email: jan.luyten@vito.be