CNR – Structural and Functional Materials laboratories
TA20 – CNR-IMA2
Location
Via Granarolo 64
48018 Faenza, Italy
Description
The laboratories of Structural and Functional Materials team are equipped with critical, state-of-the-art infrastructure and equipment essential for research and development in this field. Among the key resources, there is a range of infrastructures designed for advanced material consolidation (e.g. sintering and pyrolysis) and post-consolidation thermal treatment processes (e.g. annealing or oxidation). For instance, a gas pressure sintering furnace (GERO, Germany), with a graphite heating element, can reach temperatures up to 2250°C, 1-10 °C/min in a controlled atmosphere (e.g. argon, nitrogen), applying a maximum pressure of 100 bar. The crucible to host samples has a diameter of 200mm and height of 200mm. Another significant tool is the ASTRO Industries Inc. graphite furnace, ideal for pressureless sintering up to 2000 °C, 1-10 °C/min in a smaller scale (40mm ´ 100mm, D´H).
The laboratories also feature special apparatus capable of applying mechanical pressure and fast heating ramp for sintering of hard-to-sinter advanced materials (e.g., ultra-high temperature ceramics, boron carbide, refractory metals),: such as hot-pressing furnace operating up to 1950°C, 10-40 °Cmin in a vacuum. Additionally, advanced technology such as the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) system, model H-HPD-25 by FCT, allows for sintering at temperatures up to 2200°C, 10-200 °C/min, under vacuum or argon flux. Among special apparatus, the laboratory has a mild temperature pyrolysis furnace (0.01-10°C/min), for synthesis of ceramic phases from organometallic precursors (e.g. polycarbosilane, metal-alkoxide etc). The laboratories also feature air furnaces capable of reaching 1800°C for sintering of oxide ceramics or for oxidation tests of non-oxide materials.
For microstructural analysis, the laboratories are equipped with a HIROX RH-2000 digital optical microscope and a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) Carl Zeiss Sigma integrated with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), using the INCA Energy 300 by Oxford Instruments. These instruments enable detailed microstructural characterisation of materials. Furthermore, the facility includes an X-ray generator-diffractometer D8 Advance by Bruker, accompanied by an automatic polishing machine and a heating stage specifically designed for X-ray diffraction.
The laboratories also house equipment for thermo-mechanical testing, including the universal testing machines Instron mod. 1195 and Instron 6025, as well as the Zwick Z050 universal testing machine, which are crucial for assessing the mechanical properties of materials under various load conditions and temperature (up to 1500 °C under acquiring apparatus to reach temperature >1500 °C). Supporting these tests is the Innovatest Falcon 505 microhardness tester, ideal for measuring hardness on a microscopic scale.
Finally, for oxidation testing, the laboratories utilise a Thermogravimetric analyser (TG) and DTA dilatometer, model STA449 by NETSCH, which facilitates thermal analysis crucial for studying the thermal stability and oxidation behaviour of materials. This array of equipment positions our laboratories as a leading facility for research on structural and functional materials, providing scientists with high-precision tools to push the boundaries of material science.
Testing Capabilities
The Structural and Functional Materials team's capabilities enable the manufacturing and testing of advanced ceramic-based materials, including both oxide and non-oxide ceramics and ceramic matrix composites. These materials often require elevated temperatures or extreme conditions, such as high pressure, for proper consolidation. Our laboratories are equipped with a four arms glovebox, which facilitates the manipulation of chemicals in a controlled protective environment. This is particularly useful for the synthesis of ceramic precursors or during the impregnation stage, ensuring that sensitive materials are properly handled.
In addition to these capabilities, the laboratories feature advanced technologies for shaping green ceramic bodies. Various techniques are utilised, including slip casting, manual impregnation, and vacuum bagging, to achieve the desired forms and structures. These methods allow for the precise control of material properties and geometries, which is crucial for the development of advanced ceramics with tailored characteristics.
The apparatus enables the comprehensive characterisation of the physical properties of these materials. This includes the analysis of microstructure, crystal lattice, glass transition, thermal stability, and dilation, with the capacity to perform tests at temperatures up to 1500°C. These capabilities are essential for understanding the behaviour of materials under different thermal conditions, which is critical for their application in high-temperature environments.
Furthermore, the equipment is designed to assess a wide range of mechanical properties, such as hardness, compression, flexural and tensile strengths, elastic modulus, toughness, and thermal shock resistance. These properties can be evaluated from room temperature up to 1500 °C, under both air and protective atmospheres. This versatility allows for the provision a robust database of new material properties, facilitating the initial screening before material qualification.
Advanced materials often require further treatment to enhance their properties or to study their behaviour under specific conditions. These laboratories are equipped to conduct post-annealing treatments at temperatures up to 2200°C, enabling the growth of crystalline structures that can significantly alter the material's characteristics. In addition, oxidation tests can be performed at temperatures up to 1650°C in bottom-up furnaces, which are critical for evaluating the durability of non-oxide materials in oxidative environments (e.g. Earth re-entry).
This wide range of equipment and expertise in materials design positions this infrastructure as a unique facility for research on structural and functional ceramic-based materials.
Technical Equipment
- Synthesis of ceramic precursors:
- Glovebox under argon
- Chemical laboratory equipped with glassware, etc.
- Shaping of green ceramic bodies:
- Slip casting
- Impregnation apparatus
- Vacuum bagging
- Special furnaces:
- GERO, Gas pressure sintering furnace, graphite heating element up to 2250°C in controlled atmosphere, 100 bar of maximum applied pressure
- ASTRO Industries Inc. Graphite Furnace for pressureless sintering up 2000°C in controlled atmosphere
- Air furnaces up to 1800°C
- Hot pressing furnace up to 1950°C in vacuum
- Spark plasma sintering, H-HPD-25, FCT, up to 2200°C
- Pyrolysis furnace, GERO, up to 1000 °C
- Equipment for microstructural analysis:
- Digital optical microscope HIROX RH-2000
- Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM – Carl Zeiss Sigma NTS Gmbh Öberkochen, Germany) + Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS, INCA Energy 300, Oxford instruments)
- X-ray Generator-diffractometer, D8 Advance Bruker
- Automatic polishing machine, heating stage for X-ray diffractometer
- Equipment for thermo-mechanical tests:
- Universal testing machine Instron mod. 1195 (Instron Ltd)
- Universal testing machine Instron 6025 (Instron Ltd)
- Universal testing machine Zwick Z050 (Zwick Roell)
- MicroHardness tester Innovatest Falcon 505
- Oxidation tests:
- TG, DTA dilatometer (model STA449, NETSCH, Geraetebau GmbH, Selb, Germany)
Additional information
Technology Readiness Level: 1-3
Special considerations: N/A
Technology clusters: CSP/STE, Materials for Energy
Website: https://www.issmc.cnr.it/en/research/lines-of-research/materials-for-extreme-applications/5300-2/
Availability: All year
Provision of tools to prepare data sets in a FAIR way: No
