Ceramic Building Materials Research Articles

The use of drilling waste in the production of ceramic building materials

The relevance of the chosen topic is due to the need to solve environmental problems that arise when drilling oil and gas wells. The study is aimed at the disposal, neutralization and reuse of drilling waste, which will create a reserve of competitive raw materials for the production of bricks. The possibility of recycling a man-made product obtained in the process of drilling oil wells at the facilities of the Morozovskoye deposit (Krasnodar Territory) in the production of ceramic products, namely building bricks, is considered. A physical and chemical study of the drilling waste of the considered deposit was carried out, with the aim of its subsequent use in the raw mix for the production of building bricks. A comparative characteristic of the raw material composition, phase and mineralogical composition, as well as the plasticity number of drilling waste and clay from the Gubskoye deposit (Krasnodar Territory) is presented. On the basis of the data obtained, appropriate conclusions were made about the possibility of using drilling waste as a raw material component.

IVL Impressions and Their Implications for the Production of Ceramic Building Materials in Aelia Capitolina

This article presents a group of ceramic building materials (bricks and pipes) from the city of Aelia Capitolina. This group bears rare impressions consisting of three Latin letters: IVL. The IVL group is studied typologically and petrographically, suggesting that a private workshop operated in Aelia Capitolina no later than the 3rd century CE. Petrographically, the IVL group is different from the well-known ceramic building materials bearing impressions of the Xth Roman legion Fretensis, manufactured in the kilnworks near the Jerusalem International Convention Center (Binyanei HaʾUma). This suggests that the IVL group was not produced in the legionary workshop. The current study is an additional facet contributing to the discussion on the various modes of production of ceramic building materials in Jerusalem during the Late Roman period. Further examined is the relation between military, municipal and private ceramic production, possibly as a mirror of the municipal development and processes that Jerusalem underwent during the period under discussion, and the role of the City of David within these processes.

Production of ceramic building material in ancient Viminacium

The technology of brickmaking was introduced to the area of Viminacium by the Romans. The development and growth of the urban settlement in the 1st-4th century necessitated the need for huge quantities of construction materials. Large-scale production of ceramic building materials, which are often abbreviated to CBM, is attested both by the numerous finds of the material itself, as well as traces of the manufacturing process. More than 15 kilns and several structures used in the process were discovered in the vicinity of Viminacium. Still, the subject of Viminacium CBM production has only been modestly studied. Thus, the aim of this paper is to analyse this production, namely the characteristics and organisation of its processes, based on the results of archaeological excavations and previously published research. To achieve this goal, we focused on the layout of the particular manufacturing sites, and the production process organisation, together with the necessary review of the characteristics of the found kilns and other structures used in the production process.

Study on static moisture absorption characteristics of porous humidity regulating ceramic building materials

Study on static moisture absorption characteristics of porous humidity regulating ceramic building materials

Building Ceramics of the Ancient Settlement of Akchakhan-Kala

The Akshakhan-kala is located on the right bank of the Amu Darya, in the Biruni district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. Over the years of archaeological study of the site, a large ceramic material was collected, dating back to the 3rd cent. BCE - 5th cent. AC. In the archaeological collection of the site, a group of finds is distinguished, attributed to the category of building ceramics. The article is devoted to the analysis of this collection and an attempt to determine the field of application of certain types of building ceramics. Among the building ceramics of the Akshakhan settlement stand out spillway pipes and ceramic tiles. The use of fragments of ceramic vessels in the construction was also recorded. The obtained analysis results suggest that in ancient Khwarezm, ceramic building materials were used to solve such problems as protecting structures from atmospheric precipitation, improving settlements and increasing the strength of adobe structures.

Ceramic building materials from the ancient Témesa (Calabria region, Italy): Raw materials procurement, mix-design and firing processes from the Hellenistic to Roman period

Ceramic building materials (CBM) are interesting archaeological items for gathering the material culture identity and urban setting of the ancient populations since their production is generally related to the local availability of clayey raw materials and advancements of technological skills of ancient makers.This paper investigates the Hellenistic and Roman productions of ceramic building materials from the archaeological site of Témesa on the Tyrrhenian coastline of Calabria region (southern Italy), a settlement where a flourishing ceramic tradition has been attested for all of its occupation phases, from the late Archaic to the Roman period. Here, the local availability of clayey and sandy raw materials permitted the development of a thriving worksite. A combined study of mineralogical, petrographic and micropaleontological features of archaeological samples and geological raw materials collected nearby the archaeological settlement, permitted to constrain the raw materials sources, and investigate the technological level achieved between the second half of the 4th century BCE and the 3rd century CE.This study highlighted that most of CBM was made by mixing sands from a nearby fluvial deposit with upper Miocene clayey raw materials. Chemical composition and micropaleontological investigation of the foraminiferal content of archaeological samples and clays validated the possible exploitation of local raw materials. Textural parameters and the mineralogical assemblage of temper grains, characterized by the peculiar presence of metamorphic lithics, also attested the use of Savuto river sands. Ceramic technology accounts for a firing process at reasonably high temperatures, evidencing the good technological level of production.Moreover, the presence of samples characterized by mix-designs and mineralogical assemblages consistent with geological materials from Campania region witnesses the importation of ceramic materials from other sites, suggesting the existence of operating trades as already attested for other sites of Tyrrhenian coast.

Late Mesolithic, Middle Bronze Age and Late Iron Age/romano-british Activity at Crowdhill, Fair Oak, Eastleigh

Nine areas, totalling 1.3ha were excavated after evaluation and desk-based assessment at land near Crowdhill, Eastleigh (NGR 448830 119560). Features were densest in Areas 1 and 2, with evidence dating from the Palaeolithic to the early Romano- British period. Three pieces of flint from a Long Blade assemblage were recovered, probably from a small localised scatter. A core tool rough-out, probably for a Mesolithic tranchet axe, was found in a pit with charred hazelnut shells from which two radiocarbon dates were obtained. Two cremation graves, each containing urned deposits, and an urned 'cenotaph' provide information about the inhabitants of the area although contemporary settlement evidence is lacking. By the Late Bronze Age there was evidence for settlement in the form of a pit containing flint-tempered pottery, worked flint and burnt flint along with charred cereal grain. A radiocarbon date was obtained on charred cereal grain from this pit confirming its age. There was sparse evidence for occupation in the late prehistoric period but by the early Romano-British period a number of ditches and intercutting pits as well as artefactual material (pottery, ceramic building material, fired clay and saddle quern fragments) indicates the presence of a small rural settlement in the vicinity of the site.

Innovative Technologies for the Production of Ceramic Building Materials from Waste of Natural (Exogenous) Processes

The main material for the modern construction business is cement/concrete, the production of which is associated with high energy and material costs and, most importantly, high CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Based on this, the development of technologies for new energy-efficient building materials - substitutes for Portland cement is of great importance. One of the ways to solve this problem could be the wider use of ceramic building materials, the production of which requires less energy and is not associated with high CO2 emissions compared to the production of Portland cement. The subject of this article is the development of innovative technologies for the production of ceramic building materials in Georgia (ordinary building bricks and clinker bricks) by using unconventional raw material - clay shale aluvium which is a waste of natural (exogenous) processes. As the main component of the ceramic mass, we used clay shale aluvium from the Duruji river bed near the town of Kvareli, which made it possible to reduce the firing temperature and improve the quality of the finished product. X-ray phase, petrographic and electronic microscopic studies have shown that ceramic products, both building and clinker bricks, made with the use of Kvareli shale, under the same firing conditions, have been obtained with a denser structure ensuring higher physical and mechanical features as compared to clay Metekhi, which is currently used by the brick factory in Georgia. The use of shale accumulated in the region of Kvareli in various areas of the economy (including production of ceramic building materials) will make it possible to clear the adjacent territory from risky deposits of natural alluvium, which threatens to flood the city and provide companies engaged in production of ceramic building materials with low-cost and environmentally friendly raw materials.

The Architectural Terracotta Marks of Bracara Augusta (Braga, Portugal): A First Typology Classification

Architectural Terracotta (ATC) is one of the most common materials in excavations from the Roman period. These ceramic building materials are an essential component of construction. Some of these pieces show potter´s marks, of different categories, that allow access to the production world of these materials. This investigation is a first typological classification of the 1216 marks from ATC materials, collected from 41 archaeological sites in Bracara Augusta (Braga, Portugal). Most of the marks were collected from the domus of Carvalheiras, one of the most emblematic archaeological sites of the city, currently under a musealization process. With this work it was possible to correlate the studied marks with specific terracotta types (shapes), context distribution and associated chronologies. The results suggested an organized and dynamic production, and an open-market, supported by numerous officinae, certainly of different sizes. Some of them were located near the housing area and reveal the presence of a large number of workers, including women and children. Further approaches on mineralogical, chemical and technological characterization of ATC, linked with stratigraphy, are under development.

The Psychological Profile of Tunisian SMEs Founders Amid the COVID-19 Crisis

The purpose of this paper is to determine the psychological profile of the Tunisian SMEs founder amid the COVID-19 crisis. The results of this research demonstrated that their psychological profile in times of COVID-19 crisis is quadridimensional and that each of these four dimensions (tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty, attitude towards risk, self-confidence and locus of control) are unidimensional. This research was conducted in three Tunisian industries (textiles and clothing industries, agro-food industries and industries of ceramic and glass building materials) via the administration of a questionnaire via LinkedIn (between March, 15 and May, 15 2020) to more than 400 SMEs’ founders. The critical contributions of this research are the clarification of the role of psychological factors in the field of entrepreneurship, which remains unclear, by enriching previous research on entrepreneurial personality. The main findings of this study: (1) the four key psychological traits correspond to the “specific traits” of an entrepreneur; (2) these “specific traits” are more suitable to study the profile of the SME’s founder profile at the time of crisis than the more “stable traits” — the Big Five traits; (3) the psychological profile of the SME’s founder in a hyper-turbulent environment (namely the COVID-19 crisis) correspond to the psychological entrepreneurial profile.

Application of hard coal combustion residuals in the production of ceramic building materials

The combustion of solid fuels results in solid by-products, i.e. slags and ashes. This waste is a potential source of many valuable mineral materials that should be used to the maximum extent. The amount of solid waste generated in combustion processes depends on the quality of coal and its natural ash content. In addition, the amount of waste is increased by a portion of unburnt coal depending on the furnace efficiency. The paper presents the results of research on the application of combustion waste as an additive to the ceramic mass used in the production of ceramic clinker products. Two furnace slags differing in origin were used in the investigations. Their physicochemical characteristics and the effect of this waste on the properties of clinker ceramics were determined. The required test specimens were formed from plastic ceramic masses containing wt. 30% of the waste. After firing at temperatures ranging from 1100 to 1200 °C, the linear shrinkage, water absorption, open porosity, apparent density and compressive strength of the obtained materials were determined. The results of the conducted research indicate that combustion waste can be considered as a valuable secondary raw material for the production of ceramic clinker products, because it intensifies the sintering process of clinker ceramics.

Building Britannia: Pre-Flavian Private and Public Construction across Southern Britain

ABSTRACTExcavation of the Roman tilery at Little London, Pamber, Hampshire, has prompted a reassessment of the dating of relief-patterned tile, assigning the bulk of production to the Claudio-Neronian period rather than the late first to mid-/late second century. This material has been privileged for retention in excavation archives but can now be seen as a proxy for the manufacture of a much wider range of ceramic building material, typically discarded on site, which, in the case of products from Little London and pre-Flavian Minety (Wiltshire), travelled distances of up to 100 km. Redating implies more extensive public and private building in town and country south and east of the Fosse Way before the Flavian period than has previously been envisaged. While private building included the construction of bath-houses, heated rooms and the provision of roofing materials, public building, we suggest, provided tabernas et praetoria along the principal roads of the province. In the private sphere such building provides a possible context for Dio Cassius’ mention of the recall and confiscation of large loans made to Britons before the Boudican rebellion. Finally, consideration of fabric needs to be added to the criteria for retaining ceramic building material in excavation archives.

The Influence of External Environmental Conditions on Properties of Ceramic Building Materials with Waste Material Additives.

In this paper, we analyze the state of conservation of ceramic building materials (clay masonry units) containing a large share of waste materials in the form of ash and slag from coal combustion and sawdust from wood processing, operated for several decades in facing walls of religious buildings, in external environment conditions. For the purpose of this analysis, comparative tests were carried out on the samples of ceramic materials cut out from facing walls and samples extracted from the same ceramic materials; they were stored in laboratory conditions for the entire time. The following were investigated: initial water absorption, capillary rise, and porosity structure determined with mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The research has shown, among other things, that the ceramic materials exploited in the external environment are characterized by an almost twofold increase in the initial rate of water absorption and by a different size of dominant pores and a pore size distribution in comparison with ceramic materials stored in laboratory conditions. The results, obtained for ceramic building materials (clay masonry units) containing the above-mentioned waste materials in their composition, constitute a novelty. They fill a gap in the literature by establishing how decades-long operation in natural conditions affected the capillary properties and the porosity structure of the ceramics under investigation. Based on the obtained research results, conclusions of cognitive and practical significance have been formulated that relate to the possibility of the exploitation of facing walls made of investigated ceramic materials.

Architectural Terracotta From Olbia According to Excavations of the 1920-ies

The article is devoted to the introduction into scientific circulation of a collection of terracotta architectural details from the excavations of the Upper City of Olbia in the second half of the 1920-ies. Archaeological research was conducted by the Scientific Council of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences according to the plan proposed by B. V. Farmakovskyi after the resumption of excavations in Olbia in 1924. Two of the details, fragments of polychrome simas of the Late Archaic period, most likely were related to the cult monumental structures of the Western Temenos and were found in the layer of its destruction. The remaining details were found during excavations of residential houses in the central (excavation sites A, H, D) and north-eastern part of the city (excavation site I). These are fragments of eaves tiles, the facades of which are decorated with embossed ornaments of two variants — Ionian cyma with pearls and meander, in the metopes of which are placed letters or four- and eight-petalled palmettes. The tile category includes a pentagonal antefix with a relief image of an Athena mask in a helmet and half lotus flowers on the sides. Fragments of gutters (simas) — a facade with a Satire mask and a water-supply decorated in the shape of a lion’s head with an open mouth were also found. Ceramic architectural details, which served as decoration and were an integral part of the roof of residential buildings, became widespread in Olbia in the second half of the IV—III c. BC. Such details are also known in almost all ancient centers of the Western Black Sea coast. Modern ceramic studies of similar architectural terracotta from Messambria and Apollonia Pontica have determined its local production. The obtained data allowed correcting not only the information on handicraft production in Olbia, as such a tile is traditionally, after the opinion of I. B. Brashynskyi, belonged to the local ceramic production, but also to offer a new direction of the Black Sea trade in ceramic building materials. Another important area for Olbia was the tiles import from Sinop.

Devising technology for utilizing water treatment waste to produce ceramic building materials

Based on the modern ideas about environmental protection, this paper reports a study into the utilization of water-treated waste from heavy metals (using copper(II) compounds as an example) for the manufacture of ceramic building materials. The examined clay minerals from local deposits and the optimal conditions for their heat treatment (at 1,100 °C) have been proposed for the sorption removal of pollutants of inorganic origin from wastewater. The use of wastewater after its treatment makes it possible to address several tasks at the same time: to protect the environment from pollution by technological wastewater, as well as to reuse wastewater in order to resolve the issue of water scarcity. Ceramic building materials were manufactured based on water purification waste (in the amount of 5 %) and clay raw materials. Their structural-mechanical and physicochemical characteristics have been comprehensively studied. Sintering processes begin at lower temperatures, which is why, with an increase in the annealing temperature to 1,000 °C and higher, their strength rapidly decreases. In the temperature range of 600‒1,100 °C, there are possibilities to apply ceramic technology to immobilize heavy metals in ceramic matrices. The prospect of utilizing water purification waste in the technological process of manufacturing inorganic ceramic materials has been shown. The safety of the building materials, manufactured by leaching pollutants from the ceramic samples using various aggressive environments (leaching to 6.4 %, 0.083 mg·cm2/day) has been investigated. The high strength and degree of the copper ion fixation in the structure of polymineral clay have been confirmed while secondary environmental pollution is almost absent

Presenting the CLIR Database Module for Processing Roman Stamped Tiles and Ceramic Building Materials (CBM)

The subject of the following article is a long time research topic of Roman frontiers studies in Pannonia. The analysis of tile stamps and in recent decades, more inclusive analysis of Ceramic Building Materials (CBM) has provided information for a wide range of limes-related research. From the more classical disciplines of auxiliary dislocation and the chronology of building phases, to more Modern approaches such as landscape archaeology and spolia studies, CBM finds are an extensive and multifaceted find group, providing both natural scientific data and epigraphic/iconographic data. The sheer quantity of Roman CBM necessitates the use of databases and in collaboration with the novel CLIR database, the following article presents a viable solution for recording and assessing these finds.

Assessment of Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Steel Slag Waste’s Recycling Options into Value Added Green Products: A Review

Steel slag is one of the most common waste products from the steelmaking industry. Conventional methods of slag disposal can cause negative impacts on humans and the environment. In this paper, the process of steel and steel slag production, physical and chemical properties, and potential options of slag recycling were reviewed. Since steel is mainly produced through an electric arc furnace (EAF) in Malaysia, most of the recycling options reviewed in this paper focused on EAF slag and the strengths and weaknesses of each recycle option were outlined. Based on the reports from previous studies, it was found that only a portion of EAF slag is recycled into more straightforward, but lower added value applications such as aggregates for the construction industry and filter/absorber for wastewater treatments. On the other hand, higher added value recycling options for EAF slag that are more complicated such as incorporated as raw material for Portland cement and ceramic building materials remain at the laboratory testing stage. The main hurdle preventing EAF slag from being incorporated as a raw material for higher added value industrial applications is its inconsistent chemical composition. The chemical composition of EAF slag can vary based on the scrap metal used for steel production. For this, mineral separation techniques can be introduced to classify the EAF slag base on its physical and chemical compositions. We concluded that future research on recycling EAF slag should focus on separation techniques that diversify the recycling options for EAF slag, thereby increasing the waste product’s recycling rate.

Wettability of Asphalt Concrete with Natural and Recycled Aggregates from Sanitary Ceramics.

In line with the current trend of seeking alternative methods for modification of the existing building composites, such as mineral–asphalt mixtures (MAMs), the materials from concrete and ceramics recycling are being used in increasingly wider applications. When added to MAMs as an aggregate, ceramic building material, which has different properties than the raw material (clay), may significantly influence the aggregate properties, including the wettability, porosity, asphalt adhesion, and consequently the mixture durability. The material’s microstructure was found using SEM. The wetting properties of mineral–asphalt mixtures were determined by measuring the contact angles (CA) of their surfaces, using water as the measuring liquid. The total surface free energy (SFE) values were determined using the Neumann method. When analyzing the research results, it can be noticed that the chemical composition of the ceramic aggregate has a significant influence on the adhesion of asphalt to its surface due to the chemical affinity. Waste ceramic aggregate, despite its acidic pH value being connected with its elevated silica content, exhibits good adhesive properties.

Wear Resistance Improvement of Equipment for Production of Building Ceramics by Hardfacing with Flux-Coerd Electrodes based on Fe-Ti-B-C System

Abstract In this work were analyzed factors that leads to wearing of equipment of production engineering, construction, oil and gas, woodworking, tillage industries. Was established that traditional hardfacing materials based on the Fe-Cr-C system are not effective for improvement of abrasion resistance of elements of equipment for production of ceramic building materials due to working conditions. The aim of this work was to increase a durability of that equipment by using of flux cored electrodes with reaction components that provide “in-situ” synthesis, which leads to fine-grained structure of refractory borides and carbides and their solid solutions with increased hardness. Powders of Ti, Mo, B4C and their combinations were used. Structure of the hardfacing coatings were investigated by method of metallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Using of pure metal powders led to forming a fine-grained structure with refractory borides and carbides and their solid solutions. It was investigated that the offered material based on Fe-Ti-Mo-C-B system used for increasing the wear resistance of extruder-screw for production of ceramic building material can increase the TBO period in 2.2-2.4 times in comparison with serial hardfacing materials based on Fe-Cr-C system.

Whiskers as perspective input material for production of high temperature resistant ceramic building materials

Production of electric power by nuclear power plants (NPP) in the world and in Russia accounts for about 17%. Much attention is currently paid to safe NPP operation and to enhancement of their reliability. Present-day nuclear power plants with high-temperature gas-cooled rectors require development and application of new composite materials capable to withstand high temperatures and mechanical stresses. Ceramic composite materials where whiskers of heat-resistant chemical compounds are used as reinforcement fibers look promising for those purposes. The paper investigates and analyses the opportunity of applying whiskers as reinforcement fibers for heat-resistant composite ceramic building materials. Studies revealed that whiskers of silicon carbide and aluminium nitride are resistant towards high temperature heating without notable change in their chemical composition. It was found out that mono crystals of silicon carbide have higher mechanical strength owing to lack of defects in its structure. Linear heat expansion factors of silicon carbide that are needed for thermo-chemical calculations of composite materials on its base were determined.