Timothy V Gordon

US Patent:

20100048374, Feb 25, 2010

Filed:

May 28, 2009

Appl. No.:

12/473562

Inventors:

James Jenq Liu - Mason OH, US
Bilal Zuberi - Cambridge MA, US
William M. Carty - Alfred Station NY, US
Rachel A. Dahl - Yuba City CA, US
Jerry C. Weinstein - Malta NY, US
Sunilkumar C. Pillai - Oakdale PA, US
Timothy Gordon - Pittsburgh PA, US
James Marshall - Latrobe PA, US

International Classification:

C03C 10/14

US Classification:

501 4

Abstract:

This invention provides a system and method for establishing proper quantities of components in the initial mixture to be used in the fabrication of a porous ceramic substrate. The components typically consist of a solvent, a bulk fiber such as mullite, an organic binder for use in extrusion of the green substrate, a glass/clay bonding phase that bonds the fibers upon high-temperature curing and a pore former that defines gaps between the particles and is vaporized out of the substrate during curing. By identifying the controllable factors related to each of the components, and adjusting the factors to vary the resulting strength and porosity of the cured substrate, an optimized strength and porosity performance can be achieved. The controlling factors for each component include its relative weight percent in the mixture. The fiber component is also controlled via fiber diameter, diameter uniformity, and fiber length-to-diameter aspect ratio. Likewise, pore former is also controlled by particle size and shape and particle density. The bonding phase may also be controlled based upon its contribution to the viscosity at sintering temperature.