A team from Morgan Technical Ceramics, based at Stourport, UK, has used the high precision X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) facilities at Diamond to complete groundbreaking research to further their understanding on the firing behaviour of Alumina ceramics at the critical point of sintering. The research marks the first time in the company’s history that real-time analysis has been completed through the sintering temperature range for ceramic materials.
The research was conducted during 2024 over two beamtime sessions; the first of which was carried out on beamline I11 with the support of Dr Bob Oscroft, Technical Manager at Morgan Technical Ceramics and Dr Yi Cui, Senior Materials Engineer at Morgan Technical Ceramics. The team used diffractometer equipment in the sessions gathers data at an accelerated rate, with 30 minutes beam time providing the equivalent of one month’s acquisition time on other XRD machines.
The purpose of the research was to see what phases are formed through the sintering temperature range of a grade of their Alumina ceramics, with the aim of understanding the sintering behaviour in relation to temperature. The research findings will enable Morgan to optimise their processes, without compromising the material performance.