After successful completion of the course, students are able to identify particularities of engineering ceramic materials and the resulting fields of application, to describe the ceramic processing chain from the powder-based starting materials up to the final parts, to explain the main shaping techniques and the underlying physical-chemical principles, and to discuss the most important structural ceramic materials with respect to their property profiles, fabrication approaches, and fields of application.
After a short historical overview and an overview over typical fields of application of engineering ceramics, the ceramic processing chain is discussed in detail, including the underlying physical-chemical processes. In addition to the conventional processing route, alternative processing approaches are presented (additive manufacturing, ceramic coatings, porous ceramics, polymer-derived ceramics), and selective oxide and non-oxide ceramic materials are discussed. Additionally, the mechanical properties of ceramics are discussed (linear-elastic fracture mechanics), including the respective implications for the successful technological implementation of ceramic materials. (ceramic-suitable design, ceramic joining).
The course takes place in a blocked format. The contents are conveyed via lectures, which are intercepted regularly by teacher-student interactions, and buzz group acitivies. Furthermore, a large variety of course unit-related showpieces are presented. The lecture slides are provided in printed form in the first course unit.
