Structure and Properties of Barium Titanate Lead-Free Piezoceramic Manufactured by Binder Jetting Process

Development of TiO2/ZrO2 Multi-Material Obtained from Ceramic Pastes for Material Extrusion

The application of additive manufacturing method such as material extrusion (MEX) allows the successful fabrication of ceramic products, including multi-ceramic products. Promising materials in this research area are TiO2 and ZrO2 ceramics, which can be used in electrical and electronic engineering. The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility of fabricating TiO2/ZrO2 multi-materials from ceramic pastes that can be used in the MEX. In this work, defects, chemical and phase composition, and microhardness were analyzed in multi-ceramic samples after sintering. Multi-ceramic TiO2/ZrO2 samples after the sintering process without interlayer could not be fabricated due to a too large difference in shrinkage between TiO2 and ZrO2. The samples with one and three interlayers also have defects, but they are less significant and can be fabricated. The average hardness for the TiO2 zone was 636.7 HV and for the ZrO2 zone was 1101 HV. In the TiO2 zone, only TiO2 phase in rutile is observed, while in the interlayer zones, in addition to rutile, ZrO2 and ZrTiO4 are also present, as is a small amount of Y2O3. In the zone ZrO2, only the ZrO2 phase is observed. The chemical analysis revealed that the interlayers comprise sintered ZrO2 granules enveloped by TiO2, ZrO2, and ZrTiO4.

Synthesis of Spherical Powder of Lead-Free BCZT Piezoceramics and Binder Jetting Additive Manufacturing of Triply Periodic Minimum Surface Lattice Structures

The article presents the results of the synthesis of lead-free piezoceramic materials (Ba_0.9Ca_0.1)(Ti_0.9Zr_0.1)O₃ (BCZT system) in spherical powder form and their subsequent application in the binder jetting additive manufacturing process. Green models were manufactured using this powder material with binder jetting, different sintering modes were investigated, and the functional piezoelectric properties were measured. Lattice structures with triply periodic minimum surface topologies, such as Gyroid and Schwarz, were designed and manufactured. It is shown that the functional properties of lattice structures depend on the parameters of the cells and the chosen topology.

A Review on Additive Manufacturing of Functional Gradient Piezoceramic

Functionally graded piezoceramics are a new generation of engineering materials whose final properties are determined by a chemical composition gradient (volume distribution), material microstructure, or design characteristics. This review analyzes possible ways to create a functionally graded piezoceramic material (gradient chemical composition, gradient porosity-controlled and disordered porosity) by additive manufacturing methods, to control such materials' functional characteristics. An analysis of the creation of gradient piezoceramics using binder jetting technology is presented in more detail. The review shows that today, the creation of functional gradient piezoceramics by additive manufacturing is a poorly-studied but promising research area, due to the rapid development of the additive manufacturing market and their unique features in shaping parts.

Special Issue: Materials, Design and Process Development for Additive Manufacturing

Additive manufacturing is a dynamically developed direction of modern digital manufacturing processes, which in some cases is already being used to create high-tech products, and in others there are active investigation on new materials and the design and development of technological processes [...].