Effects of alumina and white fused alumina addition on technological properties of transparent floor tile glazes
- PDF / 1,557,446 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 21 Downloads / 202 Views
Effects of alumina and white fused alumina addition on technological properties of transparent floor tile glazes Zahide Bayer Ozturk1 · Betul Yıldız2 · Alpagut Kara3,4 Received: 10 July 2019 / Accepted: 6 December 2019 © Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2019
Abstract In ceramic tile manufacturing, α-Al2O3 is the main type of alumina used in ceramic body and glaze formulations. It acts as an opacifier in porcelain tile bodies and as a matting agent in glazes. White fused alumina (WFA) is produced by fusing calcined alumina in an electric arc furnace under carefully controlled conditions. It is generally preferred in ceramic floor tile glazes in order to increase abrasion resistance. The aim of this study was to establish a better understanding of how alumina and WFA addition affects the thermal behavior, microstructural evolution and aesthetic properties of transparent floor tile glazes. The results showed that both alumina and WFA increased the sintering and melting temperatures of the standard commercial glaze. Corund was detected in the main phase with WFA addition in tile glazes. There were no other crystalline phases formed since WFA did not react with glassy phase. This behavior can be attributed to higher refractoriness of fused alumina. Smoother surface and homogenous structure were observed in the glazes with WFA addition. However, anorthite and corund phases were detected in the glazes with alumina addition. High crystallization glazes with rough surfaces were observed in these glazes. Alumina was found to be more effective to increase opacity and reducing glossiness compared WFA addition. Keywords α-alumina · White fused alumina (WFA) · Transparent floor tile glaze · Technological properties
Introduction Alumina is a synthetic raw material obtained from bauxite by the Bayer process, whose Al2O3 content is higher than 99%. α-Al2O3 is widely used in bodies and glazes in ceramic tile manufacturing [1–3]. It is preferred as an opacifier in porcelain tile formulations and as a matting agent in glazes. This matting affect depends on content and particle size distribution of alumina [1, 3–6].
* Zahide Bayer Ozturk [email protected] 1
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Nevsehir Haci Bektas Veli University, 50300 Nevsehir, Turkey
2
Eczacιbasι Building Products Division, Vitra Innovation Center, 11300 Bozuyuk, Bilecik, Turkey
3
Department of Material Science and Engineering, Eskisehir Technical University, 26555 Eskisehir, Turkey
4
Ceramic Research Center (SAM), Anadolu University, 26470 Eskisehir, Turkey
White fused alumina (WFA) is obtained from grinding and the fusion of high-purity calcined alumina in electric arc furnaces. WFA is a raw material characterized with high hardness, friable with high purity, chemical stability, a high melting point and large crystal size. It is employed for increasing the abrasion resistance of ceramic tile glazes. The melting points of WFA and alumina are ≈ 2500 °C and 2072 °C, respectively [7–9]. Studies on the effect of A l2 O
Data Loading...
