Influence of temperature and composition in the mechanical resistance and porosity of ceramic pieces

Abstract

We have tried to establish a relationship between the raw material and the mechanical properties of ceramic pieces subjected to different firing processes, so under the determinant of the thermal process we have done a follow up on the petrogenetic process that the manufacture of ceramics represents. This is evaluated in terms of the mechanical behaviour of the ceramic tile bodies, which have been normalised and submitted to tests for flexion. The principal objective is to be able to indicate what the optimum firing temperature for each sample is, and to determine what it is in the ceramic body which offers the greatest resistance when a specific force is applied. The study of the texture of the ceramic body will be considered mainly in relation to the existent porosity, as well as its distribution, which conditions its characteristics and specifications. The relation between porosity and the parameters that describe the porous texture of the ceramic tile pieces studied is complicated because of the fact that these have many pores with a complex and irregular spatial disposition, with a broad distribution of forms and sizes, and as such they do not fit into established empirical equations.