This volume focuses on recent scientific and technological developments in silicon-based (i.e., silicon nitride, SiAlONs, silicon carbide, silicon oxynitride) structural ceramics. Authors from academia and industry assess the current state of the art in slilicon-based structual ceramics. Industrial case studies are advocated to highlight the development and application of these materials in real engineering environments.

Over 40 papers are included in this volume from six symposia held during the 29th International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites. Topics include ceramics and environmental applications, characterization tools for materials in extreme environments, functional nanomaterials, biomimetrics, carbon/carbon and ceramic composite materials in friction, multifunctional materials systems and reliability.

Papers from The American Ceramic Society's 31st International Conference on Advanced Ceramics and Composites, held in Daytona Beach, Florida, January 21-26, 2007. Includes papers on porous ceramics ranging from nanoporous to macroporous systems, including foams, honeycombs, 3D scaffolds, interconnected fibers, sintered hollow spheres, and aerogels; ceramics in medical applications; and geopolymers, a new class of totally inorganic, aluminosilicate-based ceramics that are charge balanced by group I oxides (i.e., Na, K, and Cs)