The completion of Annex II represents a 20-year commitment to addressing the critical barriers facing the use of ceramics in advanced heat engines. Insights gained from the early subtasks were instrumental in the development of standard procedures for mechanical strength testing and powder characterization. The subtasks implemented since the late 1990s have focused on the development and verification of very specialized techniques required to assess the mechanical and environmental stability of structural ceramics for gas turbine applications. More that 40 detailed reports and scientific publications have resulted from this work including a Final Report.

As any new technology is developed, and moved towards commercialization, one of the issues that the industrial community faces is the development of standardized test methods for the screening, comparison, and qualification of materials. In the diesel engine community, this is a particular challenge, because there is such a wide range of interested parties -- engine manufacturers, material suppliers, and researchers (government and academia). Within that group, there is a wide range of material compositions, application/fabrication methods, and performance conditions/ requirements. The end result is that every "player" tends to select/develop a test method that meets the specific needs of his application. ANNEX II facilitated the development and acceptance of materials characterization standards for engine applications by working directly with key standardization bodies including VAMAS and ASTM.

Completed Annex II Subtasks

The technical activities (subtasks) conducted under Annex II are summarized in Table 1. Many of these included extensive industry participation in which the industrial member cost shared their contribution. In this approach, each country benefited from the experience and work of the other countries by gaining access to a larger quantity of data required to substantiate the standard methods that were developed. This also minimized the effort required to transition standards from the national to international level. Considerable cost savings were a result of the IA-AMT structure. All of the completed subtasks focused on pre-standardization issues related to the deployment of structural ceramics in transportation activities. Specific applications included ceramic diesel exhaust values, cam roller followers, and timing plungers. Results led to the optimization of techniques for characterization of powder properties, quantification of the green-state characteristics, and evaluation of mechanical performance. This extensive set of results (see Appendix B for a listing of recent publications) were used in the establishment of standards via ASTM, JIS, CEN, and ISO (JIS - Japan Industrial Standards, ASTM - American Society for Testing and Materials, CEN - the Committee for European Normalization and ISO - the International Organization for Standardization.) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines (see publications list), which in turn have benefited the entire ceramic community.   

Table 1: Summary of all Subtasks Implemented under ANNEX II.

Table 2 summaries some the existing standards that have benefited from the work conducted in the IA-AMT. In the case of the room-temperature (RT) flexural strength, the standard, ASTM C1161, was revised to reflect lessons learned about fixturing and test specimen configurations. ISO 14704 evolved from several standards (ASTM C1161, CEN EN843-1 and JIS R1601) and lessons learned from the IA-AMT work. The high temperature (HT) flexural strength standard, ASTM C1211 evolved about the time of the IEA round robin and included lessons learned from C1161 and the IEA work. ISO DIS 17565 evolved from several standards (ASTM C1211, CEN prEN820-1, JIS R1604) and lessons learned from this IA-AMT subtask. The RT tensile strength standard, ASTM C1273, was developed as the IA-AMT results were being reviewed and analyzed and included many lessons learned. ISO 15490 evolved from two standards (ASTM C1273 and JIS1606) and the ISO round robin results were instrumental in establishing test specimen configurations, gripping arrangements, allowable bending, and test rates. The thermal shock standard, ASTM C1525, was developed after the IA-AMT subtask on thermal shock was completed. Although this standard follows a more conventional approach to thermal shock by using water and standard MOR bars, insights garnered from the IA-AMT work are used in providing guidance to users in notes and discussions.

Table 2: Standards that were influenced by the IA-AMT subtasks in Annex II.