Yanchun Zhou & Miladin Radovic 
Strategic Materials and Computational Design, Volume 31, Issue 10 [PDF ebook] 

Contributions from three Focused Sessions that were part of the
34th International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites
(ICACC), in Daytona Beach, FL, January 24-29, 2010 are presented in
this volume. The broad range of topics is captured by the Focused
Session titles, which are listed as follows: FS1 – Geopolymers and
other Inorganic Polymers; FS3 – Computational Design, Modeling
Simulation and Characterization of Ceramics and Composites; and FS4
– Nanolaminated Ternary Carbides and Nitrides (MAX Phases).

The session on id=’OLE_LINK1′ name=’OLE_LINK1’>Geopolymers and other Inorganic
Polymers continues to attract growing attention from
international researchers (USA, Australia, France, Germany, Italy,
Czech Republic, and Viet Nam) and it is encouraging to see the
variety of established and new applications being found for these
novel and potentially useful materials. The session organizer
gratefully acknowledges the support of the US Air Force Office of
Scientific Research (AFOSR) through Dr. Joan Fuller. The AFOSR has
continuously supported these conferences since the first meeting in
Nashville, TN in 2003.

Focused Session 3 was dedicated to design, modeling, simulation
and characterization of ceramics and composites. 27 technical
papers were presented on prediction of crystal structure and phase
stability, characterization of interfaces and grain boundaries at
atomic scale, optimization of electrical, optical and mechanical
properties, modeling of defects and related properties, design of
materials and components at different length scales, application of
novel computational methods for processing. Four of these papers
are included in this issue of CESP.

Focused Session 4 was dedicated to MAX phases – a class of
ternary carbides and nitrides with nanolaminated structure and
general formula Mn+1AXn (where M is an early transition metal, A is
an A-group element from IIIA to VIA, X is either C or N, and n=1,
2, 3 …). The MAX phases have attracted recently a lot of
attention because they possess unique combination of metallic- and
ceramic-like properties. In all, 30 technical papers were presented
during this session. Four of these papers are included in this
issue.

Tabella dei contenuti

Preface ix

Introduction xi

GEOPOLYMERS AND OTHER INORGANIC POLYMERS

Geomaterial Foam to Reinforce Wood 3

E. Prud’homme, P. Michaud, C. Peyratout, A. Smith, S. Rossignol,
E. Joussein, and N. Sauvât

Effect of Curing Conditions on the Porosity Characteristics of
Metakaolin-Fly Ash Geopolymers 11

Tammy L. Metroke, Michael V. Henley, and Michael I.
Hammons

New Insights on Geopolymerisation using Molybdate, Raman, and
Infrared Spectroscopy 17

C. H. Rüscher, E. Mielcarek, J. Wongpa, F. Jirasit, and W.
Lutz

Transformation of Polysialate Matrixes from Al-Rich and Si-Rich
Metakaolins: Polycondensation and Physico-Chemical Properties
35

Elie Kamseu and Cristina Leonelli

Effect of High Tensile Strength Polypropylene Chopped Fiber
Reinforcements on the Mechanical Properties of Sodium Based
Geopolymer Composites 47

Daniel R. Lowry and Waltraud M. Kriven

Properties of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Geopolymer Composites
51

E. Rill, D. R. Lowry, and W. M. Kriven

Novel Applications of Metal-Geopolymers 69

Oleg Bortnovsky, Petr Bezucha, Petr Sazama, Jiri Dëdecek,
Zdena Tvarùzkovâ, and Zdenék Sobalik

Making Foamed Concretes from Fly Ash Based on Geopolymer Method
83

Nhi Tuan Pham and Hoang Huy Le

Preparation of Electrically Conductive Materials Based on
Geopolymers with Graphite 91

Z. Cerny, I. Jakubec, P. Bezdicka, L. Sulc, J. Machacek, J.
Bludskâ, and P. Roubicek

Effect of Synthesis Parameters and Post-Cure Temperature on the
Mechanical Properties of Geopolymers Containing Slag 101

Tammy L. Metroke, Brian Evans, Jeff Eichler, Michael I. Hammons,
and Michael V. Henley

COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN, MODELING, SIMULATION AND
CHARACTERIZATION

Electronic Structure and Band-Gaps of Eu-Doped La Si3N5 Ternary
Nitrides 109

L. Benco, Z. Lences, and P. Sajgalik

First Principle Molecular Dynamic Simulations of Oxygen Plasma
Etching of Organosilicate Low Dielectric Materials 119

Jincheng Du and Mrunal Chaudhari

Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulation of Cation Diffusion in
Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia 127

Brian Good

Dynamic Neutron Diffraction Study of Thermal Stability and
Self-Recovery in Aluminium Titanate 139

I. M. Low and Z. Oo

NANOLAMINATED TERNARY CARBIDES AND NITRIDES

Titanium and Aluminium Based Compounds as a Precursor for
SHSof Ti2AIN 153

L. Chlubny, J. Lis, and M. M. Bucko

Investigations on the Oxidation Behavior of Max-Phase Based
Ti2AIC Coatings on 7-Ti AI 161

Maik Fröhlich

Study of High-Temperature Thermal Stability of Max Phases in
Vacuum 171

I. M. Low, W. K. Pang, S. J. Kennedy, and R. I. Smith

Detection of Amorphous Silica in Oxidized Maxthal Ti3Si C2 at
500-1000°C 181

W. K. Pang, I. M. Low, J. V. Hanna, and J. P. Palmquist

Author Index 191

Circa l’autore

Waltraud M. Kriven is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professor Kriven received her Ph.D. in 1976 in Solid State Chemistry from the University of Adelaide in South Auatralia and her B.Sc. (Honors) and Baccalaureate degrees in Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, and Biochemistry from the same institute. She is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of phase transformations in inorganic compounds and their applications in structural ceramic composites. She has authored or co-authored over 240 research publications, and fourteen books to date.