Department of Materials Science &
Engineering
Module Description 2012/13
Module Code: MAT4111
Module Title: Structural and Functional
Ceramics
Module Convenor: Professor I M Reaney
Module Links:
Credits: 15
Semester: 2
Pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Brief Description (including aims of the course):
The aims of this unit are:

To review bonding theories and models to explain the wide variety of electrical
transport properties displayed by solids and in particular transition metal oxides;
(ii) to review the topic of superconductivity, focusing primarily on cuprate-based
materials, their applications and limitations.

To establish the underpinning material science in key current technologies in the
area of electroceramics such as capacitors and thermistors;

To illustrate how thin electroceramics films are made and the key functional
properties currently being exploited in a range of Si based devices;

To establish the materials science which underpins refractory technology;

To illustate the science behind many of the main refractory materials in use today;

To study the oxidation resistance of refractories in harsh environments;

To describe the main processes in which refractories play a key role.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Understand the basic principles of commercial electroceramics;

Understand the role of electroceramic thin films in modern device technology;

Demonstrate a recognition of electrical transport in transition metal oxides;

Understand the basis of superconductivity in oxides;

Appreciate the use of refractories in modern materials processing;

Appreciate the basic design philosophies behind the different types of
refractories.
Assessment:
Exam: 100%
Booklist (A) Core Test; (B) Secondary Text; (C) Peripheral Reading:
Refractories Handbook (Technical Association of Refractories, Japan, 1998).
S. Banerjee, Monolithic Refractories: A Comprehensive Handbook (Am. Ceram. Soc.
1998).
W. E. Lee and W. M. Rainforth, Ceramic Microstructures: Property Control by
Processing, (Chapman and Hall 1994).
Various Authors, Refractory Engineering: Materials - Design – Construction (VulkanVerlag, Essen, Germany 1996).
S. C. Carniglia and G. L. Barna, Handbook of Industrial Refractories Technology,
(Noyes 1992).
J. D. Hancock, Practical Refractories, (distributed by Cartworth Industries, Field House,
Netherton Fold, Netherton, Huddersfield, W. Yorks, HD47 HB). Published 1988.
C. A. Schacht, Refractories Handbook, Marcel Dekker, 2004.
Electroceramics and their applications, Moulson and Herbert.