Contact: Anne Enright Shepherd, aeshep@nist.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NIST 97-03
Feb. 10, 1997
Contact: Anne Enright Shepherd NEW CONSORTIUM TO ASSIST
(301) 975-4858 CERAMIC PROCESSING
anne.shepherd@nist.gov INDUSTRY
The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and
Technology is forming the Ceramic Processing Characterization Consortium
to strengthen the measurement and standards infrastructure for ceramic
particulate systems with a view to ultimately enhancing the
competitiveness of the U.S. ceramic processing industry, the agency
announced.
For ceramists frustrated with incomplete and incompatible
measurements, the CPCC provides promising solutions. "After consultation
with researchers from many kinds of organizations interested in
ceramics, we've all agreed to form this consortium to help researchers
understand they're not alone," said George Onoda, director of the CPCC
and member of NIST's Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory. "We
hope to get together to solve some common problems for the benefit of
everyone."
Measurement is critical to ceramic processing because, unlike in
plastics or metals processing, ceramic materials remain in a solid phase
throughout processing. So, measuring a dense ceramic means thoroughly
understanding the physical and chemical characteristics of the powder
that made it making ceramics far more dependent than plastics or metals
on accurate measurements of raw materials.
Efficiency could soar if companies start to use common methods for
measuring materials. At present, companies may spend a great deal of
time attempting to characterize the raw materials they receive from
suppliers. Further impeding efficiency is the fact that many different
instruments used to measure ceramic powder size, for instance, often
will give different results for similar samples.
The consortium's initial research agenda covers several general
categories for characterizing ceramic particulate systems. They include
physical features of powders, chemical features of powders, powders in a
liquid medium, dense pastes, removal of temporary additives (such as
water and binder burnout), green bodies, sintered bodies and porous
bodies.
The consortium will determine what needs to be measured and why
each measurement method is necessary. Individual projects will be
determined by consortium members, who will divide up into working
groups, each focusing on an important subject area. Reports and
technical results from the groups will be coordinated by the CPCC
director.
Many principal investigators from private companies, universities,
government research laboratories and private-sector laboratories already
have expressed interest in joining the consortium, which has no
membership fee. To join, each member's organization must establish a
memorandum of understanding with NIST.
Because the focus on measurement and standards is a shared concern,
results of the consortium will be generic, open and freely shared with
anyone who is interested. No proprietary information or intellectual
property will be exchanged.
For more information, contact George Onoda, A256 Materials
Building, NIST, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-0001, (301) 975-4489, fax: (301)
990-8729, email: george.onoda@nist.gov, or visit the CPCC web site at
http://www.ceramics.nist.gov/programs/cpcc/index.htm.
A non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's Technology
Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by working with
industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards.
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News and general information on the National Institute of Standards and
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