Status and Standards in ISO/TC206 'Fine Ceramics'

ISO/TC206 'Fine ceramics' is one of a technical committee (TC) in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), established in 1992. The first plenary meeting for this TC was held in 1994, and the latest meeting was held in August 2015, in Jeju, Republic of Korea. The scope of this TC covers very wide field concerning the ceramic materials for industrial applications, in forms of powders, monoliths, coatings and composites, and in functions of mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, optical and their combinations. This TC consists of 18 participating member (P-member) countries and 13 observing member (O-member) countries. We already have 81 published standards from this TC. About 30 new work items are under discussion, about 15 items are waiting for starting the discussion, and about 10 items are in the process for revision of the published standards. In this TC, we have 12 working groups. More than twenty years have passed since starting this TC, generally speaking, the categories of the discussed items tends to shift, from some testing methods for fundamental properties (strength, density, thermal properties etc.), to some properties for specified applications, such as ceramic bearing materials, photocatalytic materials and electrical applications.