Morgan Advanced Materials adds brazing of zirconia to services

Where other materials fail, zirconia remains highly resistant while exhibiting high fracture toughness. As a result, it is rapidly becoming a material of choice for components where wear and corrosion are primary concerns.

Brazing is an essential part of the process of creating components and while common techniques for connecting metals and ceramics include shrink fitting and gluing, they are not always entirely appropriate, particularly when there is a requirement for components with complex geometries intended for applications in harsh environments. Morgan’s ceramic-to-metal brazed assembly portfolio has been augmented by the additional capability of utilising zirconia, which offers new solutions for satisfying demand for robust and resilient joints.

Unlike other methods currently employed, brazing of zirconia offers a greater degree of flexibility in terms of the complexity of the surface geometries it can join together, meaning there is significantly greater freedom around the type of components to which this technology can be applied. Another key advantage is that brazing offers a fundamentally superior joint, which offers better strength and hermeticity. The expansion of Morgan’s capability in this area opens up the possibility for the brazing of zirconia to a range of metals for a wide variety of applications that were previously unavailable, such as nickel alloys.

Oliver Ridd, International Sales and New Business Development Manager, Morgan Advanced Materials, explained: “Our capability to braze zirconia onto a range of materials will give us a real edge in the marketplace. There is already a huge demand for this kind of service, particularly where analytical instruments for the oil and gas industry are concerned. We have been able to successfully demonstrate our capability in this area, having successfully employed zirconia brazing to create joints that are unmatched in terms of precision and quality.”