Extreme value analysis of microstructural flaws and surface damage in advanced ceramics manufacturing.
by
Orhan Dengiz
Industrial and Systems Engineering, Auburn University
Coauthors: Alice E. Smith, Ian Nettleship

Advanced ceramics are commonly manufactured by sintering high-purity powders. The design of ceramic elements is governed by its fracture strength, which is greatly influenced by microstructural flaws. Three ceramic powder preparation methods for ceramics manufacturing are considered in this paper – uniaxial pressing followed by isostatic pressing, flocculated slip casting, and dispersed slip casting. Their effects on the growth and characteristics of microstructure flaws and damage on the ceramic surface are investigated using a two stage data mining approach. In the first stage, digital microstructural images are mined to characterize the flaws and surface damage. In the second stage, an extreme value probability distribution is fitted using the information from stage one. The extreme value distribution estimates large flaws which are highly correlated with subsequent fractures. Results of the two stage data mining show that ceramic production method significantly affects flaw characteristics that, in turn, determine the ceramics’ fracture strength.

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Date received: October 13, 2005