Using diopside in the production of high-alumina ceramics

The introduction of certain complex glass-forming low- melting additives is an effective way of decreasing the sintering temperature of Al2O3 ceramics used in the production of dielectrics. The possibility of using Slyudyansk diopside raw material for preparing the complex mineraliser required for M-7 ceramic with a crystalline corundum phase was investigated. Five charge compositions of the mineraliser were studied, each of which contained various proportions of diopside and barium carbonate. Test specimens were prepared, and their microstructure and mechanical, electrical and dielectric properties were determined. Production of M-7 ceramics with a diopside-based mineraliser made it possible to simplify the technology of obtaining the mineraliser, to decrease the fritmaking (melting) temperature by 200-300 C, and to reduce the sintering temperature during final firing by 100-150 C. The unit production cost is significantly reduced. 5 refs.