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This book considers the many types of microstructure observed in engineering ceramics, refractories and ceramic matrix composites. All the stages of microstructural evolution are covered, from producing and characterizing starting powders to calcining, milling, shape forming, sintering and heat treating. However, this book is not just about microstructure and how they affect properties but also about how to process ceramics to achieve the desired properties. This book is intended for use by anyone using, studying or producing ceramic materials who desires an insight into how their properties can be controlled through their microstructure via processing. It is comprehensively illustrated throughout with micrographs supplied by leading research groups and companies throughput the world, using all types of optical and electroptical microscopes to highlight the different scales of examination needed to fully understand them. The experimental techniques by which such micrographs can be obtained are fully explored and details of microscopy and sample preparation techniques are emphasized to enable readers to carry out the procedures themselves. By dealing with the fundamental principles behind how ceramics are made and how their microstructures influence properties, followed by a discussion of microscopy and sample preparation techniques, the first part should prove valuable to senior undergraduates and graduates seeking an insight into ceramic microscopy and preparation techniques. The second part illustrates the principles outlined in part 1 using microstructure in specific, commercially important ceramic systems and, as such, should be of interest to researchers and industrialists using or producing structural or engineering ceramics.
