Specialty Ceramics
Saint-Gobain Performance Ceramics & Refractories’ specialty ceramics' products help customers to address unique challenges in thermal and chemical processing, heat exchangers, industrial metrology, temperature sensing, brazing, mechanical seals, semiconductor wafer processing, sandblasting and renewable energy generation applications.
The specialty ceramics portfolio consists of a wide range of products, sold as well-known brands:
- Hexoloy® sintered silicon carbide
- Norbide® hot pressed boron carbide
- Noralide® hot pressed silicon nitride
- Silit® siliconized silicon carbide
- Advancer® N-Durance, Refrax 20E nitride bonded silicon carbide
- Alundum® Aluminum oxide materials
- Magnorite® MgO materials
- Durafrax® Alumina materials
- Lithafrax™ Lithium Aluminum Silicate inorganic fillers
Saint-Gobain Performance Ceramics & Refractories’ utilize materials expertise, innovative designs, creative engineering and precision manufacturing processes to deliver reliable solutions to global customers in automotive, chemical, aerospace, non-ferrous metals, nuclear and other renewable energy, industrial pumps and sealing industries; as well as OEM equipment makers and machine shops.
Solution By Application
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Nuclear Reactors
Silicon Carbide and Silicon Nitride Seal Faces for Nuclear Reactor Coolant Pumps

Seal faces require intricate designs and must be highly machined, ground and lapped in order to conform to very tight tolerances required in nuclear reactor coolant pumps.
Seal faces are available in three materials: sintered alpha silicon carbide, sintered silicon carbide with excess carbon, and hot pressed silicon nitride.
FAQ
What are the key technical considerations when manufacturing seal faces for nuclear reactor coolant pumps?
Seal faces for nuclear reactor coolant pumps must be highly engineered to meet the specific tolerances of the application. These must be machined according to intricate designs, ground and lapped.
What level of quality assurance is required for nuclear reactor seal faces?
Saint-Gobain Performance Ceramics & Refractories is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified. In addition to conforming to end-use specifications, nuclear reactor customers typically require a comprehensive audit of key suppliers involved in the supply chain.
What materials are typically used to make seal faces for nuclear reactor coolant pumps?
Seal faces for nuclear reactor coolant pumps can be manufactured with pressure-less sintered alpha silicon carbide, sintered alpha silicon carbide with excess carbon and hot pressed silicon nitride.