Application Areas of Silicon Nitride Ceramics
NO.1: The Heart of Rotating Machinery, Sculptor of Mechanical Components
Silicon nitride ceramics find extensive applications in various mechanical fields, including high-speed cutting tools, bearings, engine scraper blades, and guide blades for gas turbines and turbine blades.
Among these applications, silicon nitride ceramic bearing balls are the most widely used products, accounting for one-third of the annual production of high-performance silicon nitride products worldwide. Silicon nitride ceramic bearing balls offer distinct advantages over steel balls, including low density, high-temperature resistance, self-lubrication, corrosion resistance, and fatigue life similar to steel balls. As ceramic balls in high-speed rotating systems generate centrifugal stresses, the low density of silicon nitride reduces these stresses on the outer ring of high-speed rotating components. Dense Si3N4 ceramics also exhibit high fracture toughness, high modulus, and self-lubricating properties, making them highly resistant to various forms of wear and capable of withstanding harsh environments that could lead to cracking, deformation, or collapse in other ceramic materials, including extreme temperatures, large temperature variations, and ultra-high vacuum conditions. Therefore, silicon nitride ceramic bearing balls find wide applications in precision machine tool bearings, automotive bearings, wind turbine generator insulation bearings, and bearings for corrosive and high-temperature environments in the petrochemical industry.
Moreover, silicon nitride bearings offer excellent electrical insulation, addressing issues related to electric corrosion that can lead to surface damage, premature lubricant aging, abnormal noise, and, ultimately, bearing failure. This makes them particularly suitable for use in electric vehicles and other fields.
Silicon nitride ceramics are also commonly used in the field of high-speed cutting tools, although high-speed ceramic cutting tools typically require even higher strength and toughness than silicon nitride bearings. Various companies use high-performance silicon nitride ceramics to manufacture cutting tools.
NO.2: Wear and Corrosion Resistance - Tough as Nails
Silicon nitride ceramics exhibit outstanding resistance to corrosion and wear, thanks to their excellent resistance to creep, oxidation, and low thermal expansion. In addition to bearings and cutting tools, silicon nitride ceramic materials are also suitable for use in various harsh environments. They possess excellent high-temperature strength, corrosion resistance, and creep resistance, making them ideal materials for sealing surfaces in the nuclear industry. They can be used in applications such as boiler reactor water pumps, pressurized water reactor water pumps, and erosion-resistant boric acid water treatment. Silicon nitride materials can also be applied to rotating components in compressors, engines, generators, motors, and turbines.
Furthermore, silicon nitride plays a significant role in the field of ultra-fine grinding. With high hardness, second only to a few superhard materials like diamond and cubic boron nitride, and a low friction coefficient, silicon nitride ceramic grinding media excel in applications within the ultra-fine powder and food processing industries, offering higher hardness and superior wear resistance compared to traditional grinding media.
NO.3: Ceramic Substrates - Efficient Heat Dissipation is a Mission
Silicon nitride ceramic substrates are widely used in the field of new energy vehicles. In electric vehicles, high-power packaging components play a crucial role in regulating vehicle speed and converting between AC and DC power sources. The high-frequency thermal cycling in these applications places stringent demands on heat dissipation for electronic packaging. Additionally, the complex and diverse operating environments require packaging materials to have good resistance to thermal shock and high strength to provide support. The high thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical properties of silicon nitride substrates significantly extend the lifespan of electronic modules.
NO.4: Biomedical Field - The Optimal Solution for Artificial Bones
Silicon nitride ceramics, in addition to their high strength and toughness, exhibit excellent chemical stability and biocompatibility, making them highly suitable for use as biomedical ceramics. Silicon nitride ceramic materials offer superior infection resistance and the ability to promote bone growth and integration compared to traditional zirconia-based biomedical ceramics. Moreover, silicon nitride ceramics have high surface hardness, wear resistance, and porous characteristics, which support the growth of bone tissue and provide durable biological fixation. These properties make silicon nitride ceramics suitable for applications in the biomedical field, including implants, knee joints, and components for surgical and orthopedic procedures.
NO.5: Aerospace - Reliable in Harsh Environments
Silicon nitride ceramic materials possess advantages such as high strength, high-temperature resistance, and excellent chemical stability, making them suitable for the stringent requirements of the aerospace industry. Silicon nitride ceramics have two major applications in aerospace:
First, silicon nitride is considered one of the few single-piece ceramic materials capable of withstanding the severe thermal shock and thermal gradients produced by hydrogen/oxygen rocket engines, making it suitable for use in rocket engine nozzle throats. Compared to metal materials, silicon nitride ceramic nozzles can withstand higher combustion temperatures, resulting in greater thrust. The high stability of the nozzle edge ensures a more uniform jet flow.
Second, silicon nitride is used as bearings for aerospace engines. In aerospace engine design, bearing materials and technology consistently account for more than 90-95% of the engine's overall performance. Ceramic bearings, particularly hot isostatic pressed silicon nitride ceramic bearings, provide critical technical support for the development of aerospace equipment, especially for high-speed and high-power main shaft bearings. After over 50 years of research and accumulation,
Si3N4 ceramic bearings have been applied in helicopter main drive systems, aviation auxiliary power units (APUs), aircraft accessory drives, missile engines, rocket engines, and satellites, becoming standard bearings for high-speed and high-power main shafts in high-end manufacturing equipment.
NO.6: Protective Helmets for Missile Antennas
Missiles are known for their destructive power as precision strike weapons. To ensure the accuracy of missile strikes, it is crucial to protect the antennas and radars inside the missile to operate effectively. This is where the design of an antenna cover, also known as a helmet, comes into play. An antenna cover is a facility designed to protect the antenna inside from harsh environmental conditions. It must meet aerodynamic requirements in terms of shape, as well as mechanical and electrical performance requirements.
While standard antenna covers for aviation applications may be made from resin-based composite materials, missile antenna covers require high-temperature resistance, and organic materials are no longer suitable. Thus, ceramic materials, particularly silicon nitride ceramics, have gradually become the preferred materials for missile antenna covers. Silicon nitride ceramic antenna covers are favored for their excellent mechanical properties, thermal stability, low dielectric constant, and superior resistance to erosion by rain. They can withstand the harsh flight conditions, including thermal vibration, making silicon nitride ceramics a promising material for antenna covers.
NO.7: Chemical and Metallurgical Industries - Fearless at 1400°C
Silicon nitride ceramic materials exhibit exceptional chemical stability and excellent mechanical properties, making them suitable for use in various parts of thermal equipment in the metallurgical industry, such as crucibles, combustion nozzles, and linings for aluminum electrolysis cells. Silicon nitride ceramics have good oxidation resistance, withstanding temperatures up to 1400°C and remaining stable in dry oxidizing atmospheres below 1400°C, with a maximum use temperature of 1300°C. Silicon nitride materials can also be used in rapidly cooling and heating environments, making them suitable for a wide range of applications in the metallurgical industry.
NO.8: Welding Industry - High Precision, No Sticking
The development of pressureless sintering technology for silicon nitride ceramics has made it possible to manufacture 
complex-shaped silicon nitride ceramic components, expanding the range of silicon nitride material applications significantly. This includes the welding industry, which is indispensable in modern industrial manufacturing. Silicon nitride ceramic welding pins and welding rollers have a much longer service life than traditional materials and achieve high precision in projection welding. Silicon nitride welding components also exhibit high wear resistance and resistance to sticking during use, resulting in extended service life and lower operating costs.
NO.9: Stylish and Cool in Wearable Tech
In addition to their high strength, toughness, hardness, and excellent biocompatibility, silicon nitride ceramics have excellent corrosion resistance and a lower volume density, making them suitable for use in wearable technology. Silicon nitride is often used for watch cases in daily wear, as it resists wear and tear effectively.
These applications demonstrate the versatility and superior properties of silicon nitride ceramics across various industries and highlight their importance in modern technology and manufacturing.
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