| Abstract Scope |
Additive manufacturing (AM) of ceramics can revolutionize rapid production of various materials for nuclear applications. Cerium oxide (ceria), fully stabilized 8 mol % yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), and lithium silicate ceramics are studied using a Lithoz CeraFab 8500 lithography-based ceramic slurry 3D-printer to produce monolithic dense ceramic parts. Characteristics such as grain size, porosity, stoichiometry, and density were used to compare printed samples with traditionally processed and sintered counterparts. Main parameters varied are powder particle size, solid loading of the slurry, sintering temperature, and orientation of layers printed. Ceria powders with a particle size of 0.5 μm and slurry solid loading of 41.5 vol% produced high-density ceramics with complex structures and geometries with a maximum of 98% theoretical density. We achieved average theoretical density of 98 % for YSZ and 84 % for lithium silicate ceramics. The presentation will summarize our results, lessons learned, and potential for scale up. |