Ceramic coating with improved scratch resistance and heat conduction properties
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sol-gel ceramic coatings on metal supports face challenges in achieving both mechanical resistance and thermal homogeneity, particularly in culinary applications where they often suffer from poor heat conduction and mechanical stress, leading to hot spots and reduced cooking quality.
Innovation Solution
A ceramic coating with a matrix of metal polyalkoxide and dispersed particles like diamond, cubic boron nitride, or silicon carbide, combined with silicone oil, applied in a sol-gel process to create a thin, thermally conductive, and mechanically robust film with improved hardness and heat distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional micrometer-sized metal fillers are used to improve mechanical resistance, then hardness increases, but density increases making suspension difficult and causing rapid settling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the size parameter of fillers from micrometer scale to nanometer scale (0.1-10 μm), which maintains mechanical resistance while reducing density and improving suspension stability in the coating formulation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite coating system combining metal polyalkoxide matrix with dispersed ceramic particles (diamond, cubic boron nitride, silicon carbide, boron carbide, or aluminum nitride) to achieve both mechanical strength and thermal conductivity without the density problems of conventional metal fillers
2Temperature
If sol-gel ceramic coatings are applied to metal supports, then thermal resistance increases protecting the metal, but thermal conduction decreases causing hot spots
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates high thermal conductivity ceramic particles (diamond, cubic boron nitride, silicon carbide, boron carbide, or aluminum nitride) into the sol-gel coating matrix to create a composite material that maintains thermal protection while enabling efficient heat conduction to prevent hot spots
Solution Approach 2:
The patent distributes high thermal conductivity particles locally throughout the coating matrix to create regions of enhanced heat conduction, ensuring uniform heat distribution across the coating surface while maintaining overall thermal resistance
3Loss of energy
If sol-gel coatings are made thinner to improve thermal conduction, then heat distribution improves, but mechanical resistance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite formulation with metal polyalkoxide and dispersed ceramic particles that provides enhanced mechanical strength, allowing the coating to be applied thinly (2-100 μm) while maintaining both thermal conduction and mechanical resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the particle size parameter (0.1-10 μm) to achieve a balance where particles are small enough to allow thin coating application for good thermal conduction, yet large and numerous enough to provide sufficient mechanical reinforcement
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances mechanical resistance and thermal homogeneity, reducing the risk of hot spots and improving cooking efficiency by ensuring uniform heat conduction and increased durability against mechanical stress.
Implementation Method 1
a coating synthesized by sol-gel method from a solution based on precursors in the liquid phase, which is transformed into a solid by a set of chemical reactions (hydrolysis and condensation) at low temperatures
Implementation Method 2
a coating synthesized by sol-gel method from a solution based on precursors in the liquid phase, which is transformed into a solid by a set of chemical reactions (hydrolysis and condensation) at low temperatures
Implementation Method 3
particles whose diameter is between 0.01 and 50 μm are dispersed, these particles being made of a material having a thermal conductivity equal to or greater than 10 W.m -1... due to their high thermal conductivity, diamond or CBN particles promote the transmission of heat inside the polysiloxane matrix
Data Source
AI summary
Ceramic coating intended to be applied on a metal support comprises a matrix including a metal polyalkoxide in the form of dispersed particles having a diameter of 0.01-50 mu m. The ceramic coating is present in the form of a continuous film having a thickness of 2-100 mu m. The particles are made from a material having a thermal conductivity of >= 10 W.m -> 1>.K -> 1> and a bulk density of 3.9 g/cm 3>. Independent claims are included for: (1) an article comprising a layer of the coating; and (2) manufacturing the ceramic coating on a surface of a metal article, comprising (i) treating a surface of the metal article to improve the adhesion of a sol-gel layer, (ii) preparing a sol-gel composition with a sol-gel precursor consisting of metal alkoxides, particles, optionally reactive silicone oil, structuring filler and/or pigment, (iii) hydrolyzing the sol-gel precursor by introducing water and a catalyst, acid or base, followed by performing a partial condensation reaction for obtaining a sol-gel composition, (iv) applying, on the surface, a layer of sol-gel composition, (v) drying of the layer at a temperature of 40-90[deg] C, and (vi) curing the coated article at a temperature of 150-400[deg] C.