Design of monolithic ceramic components in the mixed friction area under combined tribological, mechanical and thermal stress

A technically reasonable application of structural components made of monolithic ceramics lies in the area where metallic materials fail. These are especially applications where the specific characteristics of ceramic materials excel the metallic ones, like durability against wear, high temperatures and corrosion. In the submitted project systematic design solutions shall be developed and analyzed, which enable the integration of monolithic ceramic components in mechanical applications under combined tribological, mechanical and thermal stress. For that matter the state of the art in the structural design of ceramic components shall be analyzed and using the example of a cylinder-piston-combination, for example appearing in a stirling motor, a methodical design process shall be developed. An experimental rig of a 4 cylinder stirling motor shall be developed and the testing of different exemplary designed-for-ceramic solutions shall be conducted. Preliminary tests to underpin the choice of ceramic materials on an available tribology test rig, which has to be modified, shall be carried out. In the second phase of the project the proposed design solutions shall be validated experimentally and general design rules shall be derived.

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