Preparation of Reticulated Ceramics by Gelcasting

The uniform and high intensity reticulated ceramics were fabricated withα-Al_2O_3 slurry by gel casting injection.The influences of solids volume fractions,dispersant and pH values on the rheological behavior ofα-Al_2O_3 reticulated ceramics were studied.Results show that when pH=9,dis- persant=0.5wt%,solid volume fraction=57%,the slurry has a good fluidity,and its viscosity is 140mPa.s. By adopting the argon plasma treating process and the stem grafting of acrylic acid,the absorbed slurry values of the foaming plastics will be changed from 0.42g/cm~3 to 0.71g/cm~3.The reticulated ceramics fabricated have apparent porosity of 86%,volume density of 0.52g/cm~3,and compressive strength of 3.60MPa.