S18: Ultrahigh- Temperature Ceramics

Ultrahigh-temperature ceramics (UHTCs) are materials of interest for use in extreme environments that are beyond the capabilities of other materials. Some proposed applications for UHTCs include scramjet engine components, leading edges, and thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles; plasma-facing materials in nuclear fusion reactors; solar power concentrators; fuel forms in nuclear fission reactors; and others. Challenges of UHTCS that limit near-term use include thermal/chemical stability in extreme environments, the ability to be formed into complex shapes, thermal shock resistance, irradiation resistance, and damage tolerance. For such extreme environment applications, advances in the understanding of structure-property relations and performance are needed.

This symposium will focus on design, processing, structure-property relationships, thermal and mechanical properties, oxidation resistance, machining, joining, and thermal/chemical stability of UHTCs and UHTC composites both from fundamental and application-oriented perspectives.

Proposed Session Topics

• Novel processing methods for bulk, coatings, thin films, fibers, and/or composites
• Precursors for powders, coatings, and matrix or fibers of composites
• Processing–microstructure–property relationships of existing or new systems
• Bulk ceramics, thin films, coatings, fibers, and composites
• Entropy stabilized compositionally complex UHTCs
• Superhard UHTCs
• Characterization methods and lifetime assessment
• Methods for improving damage tolerance, oxidation behavior, and thermal shock resistance
• Response in extreme environments (e.g., irradiation, ultrahigh-temperature)
• Simulation and theory for predicting stability or behavior under extreme environments

Organizers

• Bai Cui, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, bcui3@unl.edu
• William G. Fahrenholtz, Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA, billf@mst.edu
• Sea-Hoon Lee, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Korea
• Frederic Monteverde, National Research Council-Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics, Italy
• Luc J. Vandeperre, Imperial College London, UK
• Guo-Jun Zhang, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
• Carolina Tallon, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA
• Ji Zou, Wuhan University of Technology, China
• Lisa Rueschhoff, Air Force Research Laboratory, USA
• Emanuel Ionescu, Technical University Darmstadt, Germany
• Lavina Backman, Naval Research Laboratory, USA