Centrifugal slip casting of components

Research in layered and functionally gradient materials has emerged because of the increasing demand for high-performance engineering materials. Many techniques have been used to produce layered and functionally gradient components. Common examples include thermal spray processing, powder processing, chemical and physical vapor deposition, high-temperature or combustion synthesis, diffusion treatments, microwave processing and infiltration. Of these techniques, powder processing routes offer excellent microstructural control and product quality, and they are capable of producing large components. Centrifugal slip casting is a powder-processing technique combining the effects of slip casting and centrifugation. In slip casting, consolidation takes place as fluid is removed by the porous mold. Particles within the slip move with the suspending fluid until reaching the mold wall, at which point they are consolidated. In centrifugation, particles within the slip move through the fluid at a rate dependent upon the gravitational force and particle drag.