Evolution with Temperature of Crystalline and Amorphous Phases in Porcelain Stoneware

Abstract

Porcelain stoneware tile is a ceramic building material characterized by high technological properties, especially regarding water absorption, chemical and frost resistance, bending strength and abrasion resistance. Because mineralogy is one of the main factors affecting the mechanical properties of porcelain stoneware, a complete determination and quantification of the mineral and amorphous phases is of special importance in the study of porcelain stoneware tiles. In the present work, a reference industrial composition (50% kaolinitic clay, 40% feldspar, and 10% quartz) of porcelain stoneware tiles fired at different temperatures (400°–1400°C) was characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction combined with quantitative full‐phase analysis using the Rietveld method, including amorphous content. The green composition contained albite, microcline, and muscovite as fluxing agents, which start to decompose at low temperatures (400°–800°C range) and are completely dissolved above 1200°C. The mullite phase is formed from 1100° to 1230°C and at the latter temperature, quartz particles start to dissolve. Studies of mineralogical evolution have revealed that the high heating rate (45°–50°C/min) required in ceramic tile manufacture leads to significant differences in comparisons with whiteware ceramics fired at a lower heating rate (10°C/min). Thus, the formation of mullite in porcelain stoneware occurs at higher temperatures (1100°C) whereas the transformation of β‐quartz to β‐cristobalite does not take place. The experimental results of this study show that qualitative mineralogical analysis, based on the intensity of a particular diffraction peak for each crystalline phase, is a suitable methodology to obtain preliminary knowledge of mineralogical changes with temperature.