Tape casting of graphite in non-aqueous media

Tape casting is a powerful method for manufacturing flat and large area ceramic component. Graphite is a reference material for gasket product. In this research work, the tapes produced were characterized by measuring density and tensile strength as well as the critical fracture strain. Due to the high flexibility of these tapes, one of their applications is graphite gasket for mechanical sealing. The best tape was chosen considering the density, the tensile strength and the surface roughness. These were the characteristics measured by changing graphite content, graphite flake size, binder content, dispersant content and plasticizer content. The results show that the best composition can be achieved by 28% graphite content, 25% binder. 7.74% plasticizer and 2.46% dispersant. This composition was obtained by using Taguchi experimental method. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.