Analysis of Thermal Shock Resistance of Ceramic Article

Abstract

The thermal shock resistance (TSR) is one of the most important parameters for many ceramic article, since it determines their performances in many applications. Due to their inherent brittleness and poor TSR performance, catastrophic failure may occur under severe thermal shock, which is one of the most important reasons for ceramic fracture. Therefore, improving the TSR of ceramics has been one of the most important focal points in the manufacturing of ceramic article. The study is focused on the thermal shock resistance of ceramic article; it is important for the applications such as ceramic cookware and dinnerware, cutting tools as they undergo sudden changes in temperature. The common measure of thermal shock resistance (TSR) is the maximum jump in surface temperature which a brittle material can sustain without damaged or cracking. TSR depends on materials properties such as thermal expansion coefficient, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, elastic modulus, fracture toughness and tensile strength of the article. The geometrical shape and volume are also important role than the physical and mechanical properties. Six types of ceramic articles were selected with different geometrical shapes and analysed with the mathematical models. The theoretical and simulation results show the same trend in different thermal shock conditions. The mathematical models were validated with Finite Element methods. The result shows the necessity of adjusting the thickness variation during heating and cooling of the ceramic article. The results lead to optimization of parameters for the necessity of the adjustment thickness variation compared with the unmodified ones.