A meta-analysis of the mechanical properties of ice-templated ceramics and metals

TL;DR

This meta-analysis synthesizes data from numerous studies on ice-templated ceramics and metals to identify key parameters influencing their structure and mechanical properties, providing guidelines for optimization.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive meta-analysis that clarifies the relationships between processing parameters and properties in ice-templated materials, which was previously unclear.

Findings

Identification of critical parameters affecting structure and properties

Guidelines for optimizing mechanical response

Comprehensive dataset of ice-templated materials

Abstract

Ice templating, also known as freeze casting, is a popular shaping route for macroporous materials. Over the past 15 years, it has been widely applied to various classes of materials, and in particular ceramics. Many formulation and process parameters, often interdependent, affect the outcome. It is thus difficult to understand the various relationships between these parameters from isolated studies where only a few of these parameters have been investigated. We report here the results of a meta analysis of the structural and mechanical properties of ice templated materials from an exhaustive collection of records. We use these results to identify which parameters are the most critical to control the structure and properties, and to derive guidelines to optimize the mechanical response of ice templated materials. We hope these results will be a helpful guide to anyone interested in such materials.