August 2016 Issue | Ceramic Industry

Advanced ceramics are out of this world! Learn more in this issue, plus information on specifying refractories, industrial control panel safety, and more!

Martian Oxygen: Creating Breathable Air with Engineered Ceramics

NASA scientists are working on advanced technologies that can one day enable human exploration of Mars, and engineered ceramics will help.

Joseph Hartvigsen S. Elangovan Jessica Elwell

August 1, 2016

No Comments

In the 2015 film The Martian, based on the novel of the same title by Andy Weir, astronaut Mark Watney struggles for survival after his team is forced to evacuate Mars due to a violent dust storm—leaving him behind after mistakenly presuming he is dead. The story highlights how a manned mission to Mars will critically depend on a reliable oxygen supply.

Celebrating an Epic Ceramic and Refractories Milestone

TAM Ceramics is celebrating its 110th anniversary this year.

Eric Hanson

August 1, 2016

No Comments

TAM Ceramics was founded in 1906 to create new titanium ferroalloys. Now celebrating its 110-year anniversary, the company can look back on decades of invention, investment and the development of various technologies. These innovations span from white titanium dioxide pigments to new alloys and ceramics, fused zirconia, welding fluxes, and the first building blocks of modern electronics and computers. In fact, nearly 100 patents were awarded to TAM for dielectric titanate materials over a 50-year period.

$Insulating Castable Refractories$

Specifying Insulating Castable Refractories

Education is key for enabling decision-makers to select a product that is best-suited to each individual application.

Lance Caspersen

August 1, 2016

No Comments

Industrial furnaces and kilns rely on high-temperature insulation materials to optimize production yield and minimize energy costs, which can rise rapidly if excessive heat escapes from the point of operation. Insulating castable refractory materials are key to this energy-saving process due to their inherent low heat conductivity, as well as advantages derived from ease of placement and structural strength.

Understanding the Short Circuit Current Rating

Ceramic manufacturers should take steps to ensure their facilities meet safety guidelines for industrial control panels.

August 1, 2016

No Comments

“Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace” (NFPA70E) was recently updated by the National Fire Protection Association (NPFA). It primarily addresses fire and explosion hazards caused by arc flash in electrical equipment. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to eliminate these events, thereby mitigating risk to facilities and—most importantly—injury to humans.

Case Study

Triangle Brick Expands in Texas

A new stiff extrusion plant is enabling Triangle Brick to serve the growing construction industry in new markets in Texas and the surrounding states.

August 1, 2016

No Comments

Triangle Brick is a leading U.S. manufacturer of high-quality face brick. Incorporated in 1959, the company, which has belonged to the Roeben Tonbaustoffe group for 35 years, was one of the first brick manufacturers in the U.S. to incorporate a completely automated manufacturing process. Today, with a total of five plants, Triangle Brick sells brick to customers in over 30 U.S. states.

Brick Manufacturers are Skating to Success

Silicon carbide skates help facilitate a new tunnel kiln concept for manufacturing brick and a range of ceramic products.

Christophe Aubertot

August 1, 2016

No Comments

A new low-energy tunnel kiln concept has been developed to help ceramic manufacturers minimize energy and investment costs while improving production flexibility and product quality.* The basic principle of the kiln is that the firing chamber has four fixed sides: two walls, one roof and one bottom (hearth). The products, their supports and the moving media are all completely immersed in the firing chamber and are therefore always at the same temperature.

Inside CI

Advanced Ceramics are Out of this World

Did pioneers of advanced ceramic materials ever dream that they could contribute to amazing high-tech applications?

Susan Sutton

August 1, 2016

No Comments

Some of the cutting-edge technological developments that are made possible by advanced ceramics are truly breathtaking. Take aerospace applications, for example. NASA is planning a mission to Mars in 2020, which will include a device designed to determine if oxygen can be produced in-situ to facilitate a future manned mission to the Red Planet. Advanced ceramics could prove to be a key component to the success of the program.

Glass Works

Industry Leaders Join Forces to Strengthen Glass Recycling

Glass container recycling can pose unique challenges to the recycling infrastructure if not planned for and executed correctly.

Lynn Bragg

August 1, 2016

No Comments

The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI), along with beverage leaders—including Diageo and New Belgium Brewing—and the glass processing and recycling industries, have gathered a dynamic group of organizations to advance glass recycling in the U.S. Called the U.S. Glass Recycling Coalition, the nearly two dozen member organizations will aim to make glass recycling a successful industry, as well as the efficient, high-quality, and convenient service consumers want and expect.