Effects of wollastonite and barite on the physical properties of a ceramic body

Abstract

Ceramic Factory, located Mid-West of Turkey, produces wall,and floor tiles. The factory recipe consists mainly of clay, pegmatite, quartz, albite and calcite. Wollastonite and barite were introduced into the factory recipe in order to improve the physical properties of tiles. At the optimum conditions, the addition of barite improved the properties of ceramic body significantly. Water absorption decreased from 6.99% to 3.78%, dry strength increased from 1.1 kg/cm(2) to 2.4 kg/cm(2) and firing strength increased from 342 kg/cm(2) to 411 kg/cm(2). The addition of wollastonite did not improve the properties of the ceramic body: although shrinkage was reduced and dry strength increased, water absorption increased a firing strength decreased.