CERAMIC

INDUSTRIES

NIKKA LOPEZ

Ceramic is……

© The word "ceramic" comes from the Greek word κεραμικός (keramikos), "of pottery" or "for pottery“.

© A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling.

© Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous.

Ceramic before and now

© Archeologists have uncovered human-made ceramics that date back to at least 24,000 BC. These ceramics were found in Czechoslovakia and were in the form of animal and human figurines, slabs, and balls. 

© In the 20th century, new ceramic materials were developed for use in advanced ceramic engineering; for example, in semiconductors

Properties and its Uses

Hard and strongBuilding

materials○ Tiles, bricks ,

roofs, cement, abrasive for grinding

Attractive, easily mould and glazedDecorative

pieces and household itemsoVases,

porcelain ware, sinks, bathtubs

Chemically inert and non-corrosiveKitchenware

○Cooking pots, plates, bowls

Very high melting point and good insulator of heatInsulation

○ Lining of furnace, engine parts

Inert and non- compressibleMedical and

dental apparatus○Artificial teeth

and bones

Roles and Functions of Ceramic Raw Materials in the Ceramic Tile Body

Plastic raw materials include kaolin, clay and bentonite.

Non-plastic raw materials are feldspar, quartz, limestone, dolomite, magnesite, calcium phosphate and talc

Typical raw materials normally used in a ceramic tile are clay, feldspar, pottery stone, silica sand and talc.

ClayIt serves various functions such as a binder, a suspension aid and an inexpensive source of alumina and silica. 

Feldspar

It provides the glassy phase for the ceramic bodies and they are added to decrease the firing temperature and thus to reduce cost.

Silica sand

It decreases its unfired strength and plasticity but assist to facilitate escape of gases during drying and firing. 

Talc

It is used in small quantities (2-6%) in the vitrified tile body composition to enhance the fluxing action of feldspathic materials.

Flowchart of Ceramic Tile Processing

Ceramic Tile Processing

Batching or proportioning may be done by volume or by mass. However, proportioning by mass is far more accurate than that by volume.

Batching

Grinding

The grinding of solid raw materials involves a whole series of operations aimed at reducing the size of materials.

Spray Drying Spray drying is the

process that converts the body slip obtained from the mill to a granulate with a size distribution and moisture content suitable for pressing.

Pressing  Pressing is the

simultaneous compaction and shaping of a powder or granular material confined in a rigid die or flexible mould.

Drying This is carried out to

increase the strength of the unfired tile and also to reduce the risk of tile loss due to deformation as the tile rapidly shrinks or cracks as the steam is rapidly evolved in the kiln.

Firing Firing is usually the final

stage in the ceramic tile manufacturing, at which the weak, unfired, newly pressed piece of tile is transformed into a strong, durable product due to the effect of chemical and physical reactions within the green body during heating.

References

http://www.ceramic-research.com/articles_02.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic http://www.ceramic-research.com/article

s_03.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNU4

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