Author(s): Lucas M Ferreira, Elena Rossi, Martin Vogel and Claire Dubois

Abstract: Advanced ceramic materials have emerged as indispensable components in modern engineering systems that demand high thermal stability, mechanical strength, and environmental resistance. Continuous progress in processing routes, compositional design, and microstructural control has expanded the application space of ceramics beyond traditional refractories toward aerospace, energy, automotive, and infrastructure sectors. Recent developments emphasize oxide and non-oxide ceramics, ceramic matrix composites, and ultra-high-temperature ceramics engineered for extreme thermal and structural conditions. Improvements in sintering techniques, including spark plasma sintering and additive manufacturing, have enabled near-net-shape fabrication with refined grain structures and reduced defect populations. Concurrently, advances in characterization and computational modeling have improved understanding of structure-property relationships governing fracture toughness, creep resistance, and thermal shock behavior. Despite these advances, challenges remain related to brittleness, reliability under cyclic loading, and scalability of advanced fabrication methods. Addressing these issues requires integrated strategies combining material design, processing optimization, and performance-driven testing. This review synthesizes recent progress in ceramic materials for thermal and structural applications, highlighting key material classes, processing innovations, and property enhancements reported in the literature. Emphasis is placed on the role of microstructural tailoring, phase stability, and composite architectures in overcoming traditional limitations of ceramics. By consolidating recent findings, this article provides a coherent perspective on current capabilities and identifies directions for future research aimed at enabling durable, high-performance ceramic components for demanding service environments. Such progress is particularly relevant for applications involving high heat flux, corrosive atmospheres, and long service lifetimes, where conventional metallic materials fail to meet performance requirements. The integration of experimental insights with predictive modeling is expected to accelerate translation of laboratory-scale innovations into reliable industrial components, supporting sustainable and resilient engineering solutions worldwide. Collectively, these advances reinforce the strategic importance of ceramics in next-generation thermal protection systems and load-bearing structures across diverse technology sectors and industrial applications globally.

DOI: 10.22271/27078221.2026.v7.i1a.104

Pages: 44-48 | Views: 19 | Downloads: 6

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