The first comprehensive book to focus on ultra-high temperature ceramic materials in more than 20 years Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics are a family of compounds that display an unusual combination of properties, including extremely high melting temperatures (>3000 C), high hardness, and good chemical stability and strength at high temperatures. Typical UHTC materials are the carbides, nitrides, and borides of transition metals, but the Group IV compounds (Ti, Zr, Hf) plus TaC are generally considered to be the main focus of research due to the superior melting temperatures and stable high-melting temperature oxide that forms in situ. Rather than focusing on the latest scientific results, Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications broadly and critically combines the historical aspects and the state-of-the-art on the processing, densification, properties, and performance of boride and carbide ceramics. In reviewing the historic studies and recent progress in the field, Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications provides:

• Original reviews of research conducted in the 1960s and 70s
• Content on electronic structure, synthesis, powder processing, densification, property measurement, and characterization of boride and carbide ceramics.
• Emphasis on materials for hypersonic aerospace applications such as wing leading edges and propulsion components for vehicles traveling faster than Mach 5
• Information on materials used in the extreme environments associated with high speed cutting tools and nuclear power generation

Contributions are based on presentations by leading research groups at the conference "e;Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications II"e; held May 13-19, 2012 in Hernstein, Austria. Bringing together disparate researchers from academia, government, and industry in a singular forum, the meeting cultivated didactic discussions and efforts between bench researchers, designers and engineers in assaying results in a broader context and moving the technology forward toward near- and long-term use. This book is useful for furnace manufacturers, aerospace manufacturers that may be pursuing hypersonic technology, researchers studying any aspect of boride and carbide ceramics, and practitioners of high-temperature structural ceramics.

The first comprehensive book to focus on ultra-high temperature ceramic materials in more than 20 yearsUltra-High Temperature Ceramics are a family of compounds that display an unusual combination of properties, including extremely high melting temperatures (>3000°C), high hardness, and good chemical stability and strength at high temperatures. Typical UHTC materials are the carbides, nitrides, and borides of transition metals, but the Group IV compounds (Ti, Zr, Hf) plus TaC are generally considered to be the main focus of research due to the superior melting temperatures and stable high-melting temperature oxide that forms in situ. Rather than focusing on the latest scientific results, Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications broadly and critically combines the historical aspects and the state-of-the-art on the processing, densification, properties, and performance of boride and carbide ceramics.In reviewing the historic studies and recent progress in the field, Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications provides:* Original reviews of research conducted in the 1960s and 70s* Content on electronic structure, synthesis, powder processing, densification, property measurement, and characterization of boride and carbide ceramics.* Emphasis on materials for hypersonic aerospace applications such as wing leading edges and propulsion components for vehicles traveling faster than Mach 5* Information on materials used in the extreme environments associated with high speed cutting tools and nuclear power generationContributions are based on presentations by leading research groups at the conference "Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics: Materials for Extreme Environment Applications II" held May 13-19, 2012 in Hernstein, Austria. Bringing together disparate researchers from academia, government, and industry in a singular forum, the meeting cultivated didactic discussions and efforts between bench researchers, designers and engineers in assaying results in a broader context and moving the technology forward toward near- and long-term use. This book is useful for furnace manufacturers, aerospace manufacturers that may be pursuing hypersonic technology, researchers studying any aspect of boride and carbide ceramics, and practitioners of high-temperature structural ceramics.

Acknowledgments ixContributors List xi1 Introduction 1William G. Fahrenholtz, Eric J. Wuchina, William E. Lee, and Yanchun Zhou2 A Historical Perspective on Research Related to Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics 6William G. Fahrenholtz3 Reactive Processes for Diboride-Based Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics 33Guo-Jun Zhang, Hai-Tao Liu, Wen-Wen Wu, Ji Zou, De-Wei Ni, Wei-Ming Guo, Ji-Xuan Liu, and Xin-Gang Wang4 First-Principles Investigation on the Chemical Bonding and Intrinsic Elastic Properties of Transition Metal Diborides TMB2 (TM=Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta, and Y) 60Yanchun Zhou, Jiemin Wang, Zhen Li, Xun Zhan, and Jingyang Wang5 Near-Net-Shaping of Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics 83Carolina Tallon and George V. Franks6 Sintering and Densification MECHANISMS of Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics 112Diletta Sciti, Laura Silvestroni, Valentina Medri, and Frédéric Monteverde7 U HTC Composites for Hypersonic Applications 144Anish Paul, Jon Binner, and Bala Vaidhyanathan8 Mechanical Properties of Zirconium-Diboride Based UHTCs 167Eric W. Neuman and Greg E. Hilmas9 Thermal Conductivity of ZrB2 and HfB2 197Gregory J. K. Harrington and Greg E. Hilmas10 Deformation and Hardness of UHTCs as a Function of Temperature 236J. Wang and L. J. Vandeperre11 Modeling and Evaluating the Environmental Degradation of UHTCs under Hypersonic Flow 267Triplicane A. Parthasarathy, Michael K. Cinibulk and Mark Opeka12 Tantalum Carbides: Their Microstructures and Deformation Behavior 291Gregory B. Thompson and Christopher R. Weinberger13 Titanium Diboride 316Brahma Raju Golla, Twisampati Bhandari, Amartya Mukhopadhyay, and Bikramjit Basu14 Th e Group IV Carbides and Nitrides 361Eric J. Wuchina and Mark Opeka15 Nuclear Applications for Ultra-High Temperature Ceramics and MAX Phases 391William E. Lee, Edoardo Giorgi, Robert Harrison, Alexandre Maître, and Olivier Rapaud16 UHTC-Based Hot Structures: Characterization, Design, and On-Ground/In-Flight Testing 416Davide Alfano, Roberto Gardi, Luigi Scatteia, and Antonio Del VecchioIndex 437