Large gas engines are typically applied to compensate for peak loads and grid instabilities in the electric power supply. A key component of these engines is the spark plug. Because of the harsh conditions encountered in their use, the spark plug electrodes are subject to significant wear. Conventional electrodes are expensive due to the precious metal alloys they contain. As an alternative, ceramic materials from the groups of silicide, carbides, and nitrides were selected for preliminary experiments that investigate functional as well as mechanical properties and wear behavior. Because of the harsh conditions during operation, the new materials must have a high melting temperature, good thermal shock resistance, high thermal conductivity, and high corrosion/oxidation resistance as well as high density. It was found that the mechanical and thermomechanical properties of certain ceramic candidates are sufficient for application as spark plug electrodes. Furthermore, the chosen ceramic materials achieve an adequate performance in terms of secondary voltage trace and ignition behavior. However, wear resistance may not be sufficient for service times longer than the service time of existing spark plugs and further research is still necessary before ceramic electrodes may be established as a commercial alternative to existing electrodes.
Alkali-activated materials (AAMs) were prepared using tungsten tailings via pressure molding and casting, and their high-temperature resistances were analyzed. Variations in their compressive strength, gel, and physical phase transformation, pore structure, and morphology at different temperatures were investigated and comparatively analyzed. Results showed that the compressive strength of both AAMs first increased and then decreased with increasing temperature. At 600°C, the pressure-molded AAM exhibited a considerably higher compressive strength (152.38 MPa) than the cast-molded AAM (42.05 MPa). Thermogravimetric–differential scanning calorimetry, XRD, and FTIR analyses showed that the pressure-molded AAM contained more gel phases than the cast-molded AAM at the same temperature. The gel phase further polymerized and decomposed at high temperatures (>800°C), forming nepheline and zeolite crystals. Mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscopy results revealed that pressure molding increases the contact between the gel and unreacted materials, effectively reducing the porosity and densifying the AAM. The pressure-molded AAM had a considerably smaller pore diameter than the cast-molded AAM; thus, the former had considerably higher compressive strength. The porosity and pore size of the pressure-molded AAM gradually increased with the temperature, which polymerized the gel phase and eventually decomposed it; this increased its compressive strength first and then decreased.
Herein, a spinel-type high-entropy ceramics (Co.2Cr.2Fe.2Mn.2Zn.2)3O4 is introduced. The obtained ceramics exhibit superior thermal stability under accelerated aging conditions at 125°C for 500 h, that is, aging drift was less than .35% for all samples sintered at temperatures (1200or–1275or . The variation of resistance is mainly attributed to the oxidation of grain boundaries and the migration of oxygen vacancies. The relationship between crystal structure evolution and aging properties was investigated using structural analysis and P–V–L bonding theory. Theoretically, the Co/Cr/Mn/Fe–O bonds at the octahedral sites in the spinel structure are more important for controlling structural stability.