Far-from-Equilibrium Processing of Multiphase Ceramic Nanocomposites

A new far-from-equilibrium processing methodology has been developed to produce multiphase nanocomposite ceramics. The proposed method uses the following steps: ( a) spray drying of commercially available powders to make flowable multicomponent feed powder aggregates, ( b) plasma melting and quenching to generate dense and homogeneous metastable powders, and ( c) pressure assisted consolidation of these powders to make dense nanocomposite ceramics. By controlling of process parameters, inherent superplasticity of these powders can be used to aid in densification process. In this article, results on multiphase zirconia- and alumina-based ceramics will be presented.