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Future Research in Refractories: A Roadmap Approach

A. Geigenmüller, H. Spindler, K. Lenk, C. G. Aneziris

Journal of Ceramic Science and Technology, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2014), pp. 71-76

DOI: 10.4416/JCST2013-00032

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Abstract

Science and technology roadmaps are valuable instruments for strategic planning in research. Especially for interdisciplinary fields such as materials science and technology, roadmaps are promising instruments for identifying relevant research themes and interfaces between different disciplines and actors. Against this background, this paper aims at developing a roadmap for refractory research in order to strategically promote the field, to initiate ground-breaking research endeavors and valuable collaborations and to advance fundamental and applied refractory research. To this end, the study employs an extensive review of existing roadmaps, strategic papers, reports, and presentations in the fields of materials science and engineering, ceramics, glass, metals, metallurgy, and refractory applications. Furthermore, in-depth interviews with national and international experts from academia, industry and professional associations provide judgments about future research trends and estimates about their time of occurrence. The study identifies four main future research areas, including novel materials compositions as enablers for improved or extended materials properties, new approaches for materials preparation, forming and processing technologies. Moreover, modeling and forecasting of materials properties and performance are identified as important fields for future research.

Keywords

Roadmap, strategic planning, refractories, materials synthesis, preparation, processing, testing, modeling and simulation

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