Improvement of the Structural Integrity of Ceramic Parts

In contrast to previous epochs, we live in a "new ceramic world" where advanced ceramics are engineered for specific applications. This book highlights studies in the fields of fracture mechanics and materials science as promising avenues for the quality control of ceramic products. It proposes new approaches to solving issues regarding the structural integrity of ceramic parts, namely techniques of crack initiation and retardation in ceramic parts of arbitrary shapes explaining regularities of crack retardation kinetics. It also presents a developed technique of high-temperature reduction-oxidation (redox) treatment of Ni-containing cermets for solid oxide fuel cell anodes. The book should be useful to mechanical engineers and materials scientists developing new ceramic and superhard materials and designing corresponding products of complex shapes.