Optimising mechanical strength and bulk density of dry ceramic bodies through mixture design

abstract

In industrial practice, it is desirable to be able to predict, in an expeditious way, what the effects of a change in raw materials or the proportions thereof might be in the various processing steps towards the final product. When the property of interest is basically determined by the combination (or mixture) of raw materials, an optimisation methodology specific to the design of mixture experiments can be successfully used. In the present study, dry bending strength and bulk density were selected as the properties to model, given the simplicity of their experimental determination and because they are frequently used as quality control parameter in the development and manufacture stages of floor and wall ceramic tiles. Ten formulations of three raw materials (a clay mixture, potash feldspar and quartz sand) were processed in the laboratory under fixed conditions, similar to those used in the ceramics industry, and characterised. The use of this methodology enabled the calculation of valid regression models (equations) relating dry bending strength and bulk density with the contents, in the starting mixture, of the particular raw materials used.

keywords

OPTIMIZATION; PHASE

subject category

Materials Science

authors

Correia, SL; Hotza, D; Segadaes, AM

our authors

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