Porous mullite-corundum ceramics were prepared using organic foam impregnation method with alumina and silica as raw materials. The influence of alkaline treatment and surfactant modification on polyurethane foam were studied. Effects of sintering process and material composition on porous mullite-corundum ceramics were investigated. The results show that the hang-pulp quantity of polyurethane foam increases with alkaline treatment. After treatment with 3 wt% SDS solution, the hang-pulp quantity of polyurethane foam further improved. Open porosity of sample decreased with elevation of sintering temperature and holding time, and compressive strength of sample showed a trend opposite to the change of porosity. The open porosity of the sample was enhanced by the increase of m(Al2O3/SiO2); the compressive strength decreased with increase of m(Al2O3/SiO2). However, when m(Al2O3/SiO2) was 2.5, the compressive strength of the sample reached 6.23 MPa, and the open porosity of the sample was 80.7 %.

Cordierite composed of an alumina-silica-magnesia compound has a low coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE) and excellent thermal shock resistance. It also has a low dielectric constant and high electrical insulation. However, due to low mechanical strength, it is limited for use in a ceramic heater. In this study, ZrO2 is added to an 80 wt% cordierite-20 wt% mullite composition, and the effect of ZrO2 addition on the mechanical strength and thermal shock resistance is investigated. With an increasing addition of ZrO2, cordierite-mullite formed ZrO2, ZrSiO4 and spinel phases. With sintering conducted at 1400 °C with the addition of 5 wt% ZrO2 to 80 wt% cordierite-20 wt% mullite, the most dense microstructure forms along with an excellent mechanical strength with a 3-point flexural strength of 238MPa. When this composition is quenched in water at ΔT = 400℃ , the 3-point flexural strength is maintained. Moreover, when this composition is cooled from 800℃ to air, the 3-point flexural strength is maintained even after 100 cycles. In addition, the CTE is measured as 3.00 × 10−6·K−1 at 1000℃ . Therefore, 80 wt% cordierite-20 wt% mullite with 5 wt% ZrO2 is considered to be appropriate as material for a ceramic heater.

In order to fabricate porous mullite ceramics with controlled pore structure and improved mechanical strength, a freeze casting route has been processed using camphene mixed with tertiary-butyl alcohol (TBA) and coal fly ash/alumina as the solvent and the ceramic material, respectively. After sintering, the solidification characteristics of camphene and TBA solvent were evident in the pore morphology, i.e., dendritic and straight pore channels formed along the solidification directions of camphene and TBA ice, respectively, after sublimation. Also, the presence of microcracks was observed in the bodies sintered at 1500 oC, mainly due to the difference in solidification volume change between camphene and TBA. The compressive strength of the sintered bodies was found generally to be dependent, in an inverse manner, on the porosity, which was mainly determined by the processing conditions. After sintering at 1300~1500 oC with 30~50 wt% solid loading, the resulting mullite ceramics showed porosity and compressive strength values in ranges of 83.8~43.1% and 3.7~206.8 MPa, respectively.

Al 금속분말을 zircon sand (ZrSiO4)와 A12O3혼합체에 첨가하여 반응소결시킴으로써 무수축 Mullite-ZrO2, 요업체를 얻고자 하였다. 반응식, 3(Al+Al2O3)+2ZrSiO4→3A12O3 .2SiO2+2ZrO2에 의하여 ZrO2-강화 Mullite 요업체를 제조하였다. Al 분말은 A12O3에 대해 0-30 무게 퍼센트까지 대체하였다. 평량한 분말을 볼밀하여 혼합 분쇄한 후, 정수압 성형하여 시편을 제조하고, 온도범위 1450-1600˚C에서 3시간 반응소결시켰다. Al의 충분한 산화를 위해, 한편으로는 1250˚C에서 5시간동안 열처리를 거친후 소성온도로 올리기도 했다. Al을 첨가함으로서 반응은 촉진되었으며, 소성수축도 산화한 Al의 부피팽창에 의해 상쇄되어, 무수축요업체 제조의 가능성을 보였다. 박편모양을 한 비교적 큰 Al분말이 잘 분쇄되지 않음으로 해서, Al이 자리했던 곳에 큰 기공을 남겼다.