Ceramic Materials for Nuclear Energy Applications

MEDICAL USE OF CERAMIC MATERIALS

Ceramic Capillary Suspensions: Novel Processing Route for Macroporous Ceramic Materials

We introduce a novel method to produce macroporous ceramics by capillary suspensions. Adding a small amount (~1 vol%) of an immiscible secondary phase to a low concentration (~20 vol%) suspension can increase the yield stress by several orders of magnitude. This drastic change in flow behavior is induced by the creation of a sample-spanning particle network in the suspension controlled by capil...

Uncovering Special Nuclear Materials by Low-energy Nuclear Reaction Imaging

Weapons-grade uranium and plutonium could be used as nuclear explosives with extreme destructive potential. The problem of their detection, especially in standard cargo containers during transit, has been described as "searching for a needle in a haystack" because of the inherently low rate of spontaneous emission of characteristic penetrating radiation and the ease of its shielding. Currently,...

Ceramic Laser Materials

Ceramic laser materials have come a long way since the first demonstration of lasing in 1964. Improvements in powder synthesis and ceramic sintering as well as novel ideas have led to notable achievements. These include the first Nd:yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) ceramic laser in 1995, breaking the 1 KW mark in 2002 and then the remarkable demonstration of more than 100 KW output power from a YA...

Hydroxyapatite based ceramic materials

Hydroxyapatite is the major mineral component of human bones. From the point of view of its chemistry, it is calcium orthophosphate which has in its structure hydroxyl groups and in its stoichiometric is described with formula – Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2. Biological properties of hydroxyapatite are very favorable; it is not only biocompatible (which means that after implantation it causes no side effects...