NEW VAMAS GROUP SEEKS MEASUREMENT SPECIFICATIONS FOR CERAMIC POWDERS.

A new technical working area on characterization methods for ceramic powders and porous materials has been formed within the Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (known by the acronym VAMAS) to develop technical data on the size distribution and surface area of particles and porosity of unfired (green) bodies for use by standards-writing organizations. Standardized characterization methods can lead to improved performance and higher reliability of materials such as advanced ceramics by eliminating chemical impurities and irregularly shaped or sized particles during raw materials processing and the intermediate stages of ceramic manufacturing.

The group's activity will focus on prestandardization research and round-robin trials of test methods in three areaspowder properties, suspension characteristics and characterization of porous ceramics such as green bodies. The first project--started in October 2000 -- will develop the technical data for a standard for porosity measurements.

VAMAS was conceived in 1982 following an economic summit in Versailles, France. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Community are partners in the effort. It supports trade in high-technology products through international collaborative research that leads to codes of practice and specifications for advanced materials. The research embraces all aspects of science and technology related to advanced materials required as a precursor to the drafting of standards--materials technology, test methods, design methods and materials databases.

Representing the public and private sectors, U.S. members of the new technical working area include NIST, other government laboratories, universities and ceramic companies. International representatives come from Germany, Japan and Sweden.