Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 3/e (published by Wiley) MPGroover 2007

7 CERAMICS
Review Questions
7.1

What is a ceramic?
Answer. A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic compound, usually formed into useful products by
processes that include a heating step.

7.2

What are the four most common elements in the earth's crust?
Answer. Oxygen, silicon, aluminum, and iron.

7.3

What is the difference between the traditional ceramics and the new ceramics?
Answer. Traditional ceramics are based primarily on clay products (e.g., pottery, bricks) while new
ceramics are more recently developed ceramics which are generally simpler in chemical composition
(e.g., oxides, carbides).

7.4

What is the feature that distinguishes glass from the traditional and new ceramics?
Answer. Glass is noncrystalline (amorphous), while most other ceramics assume a crystalline
structure.

7.5

Why are graphite and diamond not classified as ceramics?

Answer. Because they are not compounds; they are alternative forms of the element carbon.

7.6

What are the general mechanical properties of ceramic materials?

Answer. Typical mechanical properties include high hardness, brittleness, and no ductility.

7.7

What are the general physical properties of ceramic materials?

Answer. Typical physical properties include electrical and thermal insulating, medium density
(mostly below the density of metals), high melting temperatures, and thermal expansion usually less
than metals.

7.8

What type of atomic bonding characterizes the ceramics?

Answer. Covalent and ionic bonding.

7.9

What do bauxite and corundum have in common?

Answer. They are both minerals of alumina.

7.10 What is clay, used in making ceramic products?

Answer. Clay most commonly consists of hydrous aluminum silicate; for example, kaolinite
(Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4) is a common clay.
7.11 What is glazing, as applied to ceramics?
Answer. Glazing involves the application of a surface coating of oxides such as alumina and silica,
usually to a porous ceramic product such as earthenware, to make the product more impervious to
moisture and more attractive.
7.12 What does the term refractory mean?
Answer. Refractories are heat resistant ceramic materials. The term is sometimes also applied to
metals that are heat resistant.
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Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 3/e (published by Wiley) MPGroover 2007

7.13 What are some of the principal applications of cemented carbides, such as WC-Co?
Answer. Important applications of WC-Co include cutting tool inserts, drawing dies, rock drilling
bits, dies for powder metallurgy, and other applications where hardness is a critical factor.
7.14 What is one of the important applications of titanium nitride, as mentioned in the text?
Answer. As a thin coating on cutting tools to prolong tool life.
7.15 What are the elements in the ceramic material Sialon?
Answer. Sialon consists of the elements silicon, aluminum, oxygen, and nitrogen.
7.16 Define glass.
Answer. Glass is an inorganic, nonmetallic material that cools to a rigid solid without crystallization.
7.17 What is the primary mineral in glass products?
Answer. Silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2).
7.18 What are some of the functions of the ingredients that are added to glass in addition to silica? Name
at least three.
Answer. The functions of the additional ingredients include: (1) acting as flux (promoting fusion)
during heating; (2) increasing fluidity in the molten glass during processing; (3) retarding
devitrification, which is the tendency to crystallize from the glassy state; (4) reducing thermal
expansion in the final product; (5) increasing the chemical resistance against attack by acids, basic
substances, or water; (6) adding color to the glass; and (7) altering the index of refraction for optical
applications (e.g., lenses).
7.19 What does the term devitrification mean?
Answer. Devitrification is the transformation from the glassy state into a polycrystalline state.
7.20 What is graphite?
Answer. Graphite is carbon in the form of hexagonal crystalline layers, in which covalent bonding
exists between atoms in the layers, and the (parallel) layers are bonded by van der Waals forces, thus
leading to highly anisotropic properties.

Multiple Choice Quiz

There is a total of 17 correct answers in the following multiple choice questions (some questions have
multiple answers that are correct). To attain a perfect score on the quiz, all correct answers must be given.
Each correct answer is worth 1 point. Each omitted answer or wrong answer reduces the score by 1 point,
and each additional answer beyond the correct number of answers reduces the score by 1 point. Percentage
score on the quiz is based on the total number of correct answers.
7.1

Which one of the following is the most common element in the earth's crust: (a) aluminum, (b)
calcium, (c) iron, (d) oxygen, or (e) silicon?
Answer. (d).

7.2

Glass products are based primarily on which one of the following minerals: (a) alumina, (b)
corundum, (c) feldspar, (d) kaolinite, or (e) silica?
Answer. (e).

7.3

Which of the following contains significant amounts of aluminum oxide (three correct answers): (a)
alumina, (b) bauxite, (c) corundum, (d) feldspar, (e) kaolinite, (f) quartz, (g) sandstone, and (h) silica?
Answer. (a), (b), and (c).

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students enrolled in courses for which the textbook has been adopted. Any other reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted
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Solutions for Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, 3/e (published by Wiley) MPGroover 2007

7.4

Which of the following ceramics are commonly used as abrasives in grinding wheels (two best
answers): (a) aluminum oxide, (b) calcium oxide, (c) carbon monoxide, (d) silicon carbide, or (e)
silicon dioxide?
Answer. (a) and (d).

7.5

Which one of the following is generally the most porous of the clay-based pottery ware: (a) china, (b)
earthenware, (c) porcelain, or (d) stoneware?
Answer. (b).

7.6

Which one of the following is fired at the highest temperatures: (a) china, (b) earthenware, (c)
porcelain, or (d) stoneware?
Answer. (c).

7.7

Which one of the following comes closest to expressing the chemical composition of clay: (a) Al2O3,
(b) Al2(Si2O5)(OH)4, (c) 3AL2O3-2SiO2, (d) MgO, or (e) SiO2?
Answer. (b).

7.8

Glass ceramics are polycrystalline ceramic structures that have been transformed into the glassy state:
(a) true, or (b) false?
Answer. (b). Glass ceramics are glasses that have been transformed into a mostly crystalline form
through heat treatment.

7.9

Which one of the following materials is closest to diamond in hardness: (a) aluminum oxide, (b)
carbon dioxide, (c) cubic boron nitride, (d) silicon dioxide, or (e) tungsten carbide?
Answer. (c).

7.10 Which of the following best characterizes the structure of glass-ceramics: (a) 95% polycrystalline, (b)
95% vitreous, or (b) 50% polycrystalline?
Answer. (a).
7.11 Properties and characteristics of the glass-ceramics include which of the following (two best
answers): (a) efficiency in processing, (b) electrical conductor, (c) high thermal expansion, or (d)
strong, relative to other ceramics?
Answer. (a) and (d).
7.12 Diamond is the hardest material known: (a) true, or (b) false?
Answer. (a).
7.13 Synthetic diamonds date to: (a) ancient times, (b) 1800s, (c) 1950s, or (d) 1980.
Answer. (c).

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students enrolled in courses for which the textbook has been adopted. Any other reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted
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