Some Influences of the Fixation Phenomenon upon the Rheological Properties of Clay Slips and Plastic Masses

Abstract

It was first unveiled by the author that the binding power of adsorbed cations to the surface of clay minerals is increased by drying; and it was named as “fixation phenomenon.” As this is accompanied by the change of zeta potential of the clay surface suspended in water it would be very convincing that the fixation brings out some important change in the clay-water system.The present paper contains the results of the investigations on the influences of drying of Kaolinitic ceramic materials upon the various rheological and physico-chemical properties of slips and plastic masses. The results were interpreted from the view point of the fixation phenomenon as there is no room for doubt that it is one of the highly important factor governing the nature of clay-water system on drying.It was confirmed that the drying of kaolin minerals in the form of slips and plastic masses gives a considerable change in physical and chemical behaviors even if they were dried at the temperatures as low as below 50°C, which suggests the importance of the “drying history” not only in the studies of colloid-chemical or rheological properties but also in industrial process control. Furthermore, the possibility of the improvement of casting properties of a certain special slips through drying was pointed out.