Ceramic Paste Research Articles

Modeling the mechanical behavior of a kaolin ceramic paste owing to the variation in the particle size

The mechanical behavior of mineral pastes is controlled by minerals of clay origin since their laminar type morphology allows a special configuration of the particles, which allows them to dissipate mechanical forces applied by means of high plastic deformations. In this research, a clay used in the ceramics industry was evaluated and two granulometries called MG 270 (53μm) and MG 325 (43μm) were studied. Simple compression tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical performance of each of these materials. The simple compression data allowed to determine the radial flow of the particles within the control volume (specimens evaluated), the random organization of the clayey material demonstrates a rapid energy dissipation, translated into rapid advances from elastic state to plastic states of deformation. Later, the finite element method (FEM) was used to simulate the possible states of stress and deformation that are produced in ceramic pastes constituted by this type of clay. This allowed to obtain a graphic idea of the distribution of stresses and deformations, areas of stress concentration are evidenced, where it is possible that the start of microcracks occurs, which are generally the cause of generalized fracture and sudden faults of the ceramic paste.

Application of Image Analysis for the Identification of Prehistoric Ceramic Production Technologies in the North Caucasus (Russia, Bronze/Iron Age)

The recent advances in microscopy and scanning techniques enabled the image analysis of archaeological objects in a high resolution. From the direct measurements in images, shapes and related parameters of the structural elements of interest can be derived. In this study, image analysis in 2D/3D is applied to archaeological ceramics, in order to obtain clues about the ceramic pastes, firing and shaping techniques. Images were acquired by the polarized light microscope, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 3D micro X-ray computed tomography (µ-CT) and segmented using Matlab. 70 ceramic sherds excavated at Ransyrt 1 (Middle-Late Bronze Age) and Kabardinka 2 (late Bronze–early Iron Age), located in in the North Caucasian mountains, Russia, were investigated. The size distribution, circularity and sphericity of sand grains in the ceramics show site specific difference as well as variations within a site. The sphericity, surface area, volume and Euler characteristic of pores show the existence of various pyrometamorphic states between the ceramics and within a ceramic. Using alignments of pores and grains, similar pottery shaping techniques are identified for both sites. These results show that the image analysis of archaeological ceramics can provide detailed information about the prehistoric ceramic production technologies with fast data availability.

Hybrid additive manufacturing of precision engineered ceramic components

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a hybrid additive/subtractive manufacturing platform for the production of high density ceramic components.Design/methodology/approachFabrication of near-net shape components is achieved using 96 per cent Al3O2 ceramic paste extrusion and a planarizing machining operations. Sacrificial polymer support can be used to aid the creation of overhanging or internal features. Post-processing using a variety of machining operations improves tolerances and fidelity between the component and CAD model while reducing defects.FindingsThis resultant three-dimensional monolithic ceramic components demonstrated post sintering tolerances of ±100 µm, surface roughness’s of ∼1 µm Ra, densities in excess of 99.7 per cent and three-point bending strength of 221 MPa.Originality/valueThis method represents a novel approach for the digital fabrication of ceramic components, which provides improved manufacturing tolerances, part quality and capability over existing additive manufacturing approaches.

Raman spectroscopy for firing condition characterization: Case study of Karelian medieval pottery

AbstractRaman spectroscopy together with the scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction were applied to study the firing parameters (temperature and atmosphere) of medieval pottery from Karelian hill forts in the North‐Western Ladoga region (Russia). Because the evidences of pottery manufacture including firing facilities were not discovered during the excavations of medieval Karelian fortresses, the application of Raman spectroscopy combined with the other techniques appeared to be an effective approach to reconstruct the technology of ceramic production in medieval Karelia. Scanning electron microscopy ‐energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction analysis showed that the Karelian pottery refers to noncalcareous and low‐temperature fired ceramics. Using the thermometer based on the thermal evolution of Raman spectral parameters of the charcoal identified in the ceramic paste of some specimens, the firing temperature for those was estimated to be close to 800 °C. These data are in accordance with the more frequent occurrence of anatase rather than rutile in the studied ceramic sherds that also corresponds to low firing temperature. The presence of hematite suggests firing in oxidizing atmosphere, in rare case the detected magnetite indicated the incomplete oxidizing atmosphere. The reconstruction of Karelian pottery firing procedure based on the obtained data supposes that the firing was carried out in bonfires. The present study contributes to the deciphering the firing conditions for noncalcareous and low‐temperature burnt ceramics, for which no significant modifications of starting minerals during heating are usually observed.

Effect of Concrete Waste on Compressive Strength and Microstructure Development of Ceramic Geopolymer Pastes

ABSTRACTCeramic industry generates a large amount of wastes, which pollutes and damages the environment. This paper presents the effects of concrete waste incorporating dolomite aggregate on ceramic-based geopolymer pastes in terms of microstructure and compressive strength. Recently, attention has been drawn to the use of geopolymer technology in the production of building units. Geopolymers were prepared from alkali activation of ceramic waste by 6%, 8%, 10% and 12% NaOH. To enhance the mechanical properties, alkali-activated ceramic geopolymer with 10% and 12% NaOH was partially substituted with concrete waste containing dolomite coarse aggregate at proportions of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% by weight. Likewise, other geopolymer mixtures were manufactured by replacing ceramics with 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% calcined concrete waste at 850oC. Water/binder ratio as well as compressive strength of all mixtures was determined at 1, 7, 14 and 28 days. Phase composition and microstructure of geopolymer were identified using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Incorporation of 10% concrete waste and 20% calcined concrete waste enhanced the compressive strength and the microstructure of ceramic geopolymer pastes, while embedding extra amounts led to adverse effects.

Local production and long-distance trade of Islamic glazed ceramics in Central Asia: A compositional analyses of ceramics from Southern Kazakhstan by NAA and LA-ICP-MS

In this study, 106 ceramics dating from the 9-15th c. CE from southern Kazakhstan were analyzed by neutron activation analysis (NAA) and laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to characterize the extent of local production and trade in the region during the Early and Middle Islamic periods. The ceramics, both glazed (n = 39) and unglazed sherds (n = 67) from mostly bowl and jars shapes, were excavated from seven Medieval cities along the northern edge of the Tien Shan mountains. The glazed ceramics represent several different but common technological and artistic styles. While compositional analysis of the ceramic pastes by NAA and LA-ICP-MS demonstrates that there are three distinct compositional groups for the lead-glazed ceramics from the region, LA-ICP-MS data of the major, minor, or trace elements of the glazes do not distinguish those same compositional groups. Comparison of the glazed ceramic NAA data to over 1300 previously analyzed ceramics from Southwest Asia, Central Asia, and China indicate both an active local production of lead-glazed ceramics in Southern Kazakhstan, and trade of specialty and glazed ceramics into the region from Southwest Asia.

Robocasting of reaction bonded silicon carbide structures

A novel shaping method for the fabrication of reaction bonded silicon carbide structures was investigated in this work. A paste consisting of silicon carbide as inert filler and carbon powder was developed and printed by robocasting technology. Layer by layer deposition of the ceramic paste facilitates the printing of complex shaped structures. Different structures such as lattices, hollow cylinders, bending bars and gyroids were printed using nozzles with diameter of 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm. After pyrolysis at 700 °C and further heat treatment at 1850 °C the samples were infiltrated using the liquid silicon infiltration technique to obtain dense near-net shape RBSC structures. The robocasted structures showed a hardness of approximately 20 GPa, a thermal conductivity of ∼112 W/m*K, Young’s modulus of ∼356 GPa, flexural strength of ∼224 MPa and an amount of residual silicon of approximately 23%. These measured properties are comparable with those of traditionally fabricated RBSC.

Development of ceramic porcelain stoneware pastes by the revalorization of Colombian clays subjected to bleaching process

The objective of this work has been the development of porcelain stoneware pastes by using clays from Colombia, obtaining a product exhibiting at least the same technical characteristics that the conventional one. For this purpose, different raw materials, including kaolinitic clays, feldspars, and pozzolans, have been studied from the central area of the country, specifically from the regions of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. Some of these raw materials, having contents of iron oxide above 1%, were subjected to both physical and chemical benefit processes in order to reduce the amount of this coloring oxide. The heap leaching method with oxalic acid at environmental temperature has obtained the best results, with a reduction in iron oxide content of 60 wt%. As for the need to achieve a high degree of sintering, in this work different fluxes such as natural pozzolan, nepheline-syenite and recycled glass have been used, showing that the introduction of these materials into the composition can provide the complementary fluxing and can also reduce the sintering temperature.

All That Glitters Is Not Plumbate: Diffusion and Imitation of Plumbate Pottery during the Early Postclassic Period (AD 900–1200) at the Malpaís of Zacapu, Michoacán, Mexico

In Mesoamerica, the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200) is characterized by the long-distance circulation of pottery with a very hard and shiny coating with a metallic aspect, known as Plumbate ware. Plumbate is linked stylistically to the Toltec culture but was produced in workshops in Soconusco (Chiapas). The discovery of a similar collection of sherds during recent work at the site of El Palacio (Zacapu, Michoacán) shows that Plumbate ware also reached this region of Western Mexico. We carried out instrumental neutron activation analyses (INAA) on 11 of the Zacapu fragments and compared the results to the data from ceramic pastes from the region of Soconusco and Pátzcuaro Basin (Michoacán). Ten sherds were produced in Michoacán and are thus a local imitation, whereas the last fragment corresponds to a Tohil-type Plumbate paste and was transported over a long distance. This raises questions of the modalities for the circulation of this pot and the conditions allowing for production of an imitation (transfer of technical know-how?), which we suggest is linked to the Toltec culture in the center of Mexico.

Variation of adhesive stress in anodized AZ31 magnesium alloy immersed within cement concrete blocks with different solidification times

Anodized AZ31 Magnesium Alloys were synthesized via electrodeposition processes. The aim of this work was to determine the mechanical response of anodized AZ31 Magnesium alloy with different current densities immersed within cement concrete blocks with different solidification times. The anodized alloy was characterized by X-ray diffraction, exhibiting the crystallography orientation for the Mg and MgO phases. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used to determine the chemical composition of the anodized magnesium alloy. Scanning electron microscopy technique was performed to analyze morphological surface changes on the anodized Mg alloy with different current densities. The topography variation evidenced a reduction of the roughness and grain size with the increase of the current density which was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The mechanical properties micro-hardness increased by 32% when the magnesium alloy was anodized with a current density of 25 mA·cm−2. When both anodized magnesium MgO with the higher current density alloys for (1 and 7 days) are compared to metallic Mg alloy AZ31, the adhesive stress between the anodized magnesium MgO with the higher current density and the ceramic paste or cement concrete with a hardening time of 1 day (24 h), exhibited a reduction of 45% and for 7 days the anodized magnesium MgO with the higher current density exhibited a reduction of 60%. This mechanical behavior in the anodized Mg/MgO system indicates that the Mg/MgO coatings can be promising for future applications in the civil construction industry.

Archeometric study of pottery shards from Conjunto Vilas and São João, Amazon

In this work, we investigated through archeometry studies the mineralogical composition of pottery shards from Conjunto Villas and São João archeological sites located in the macro-region of middle Solimões, in the State of Amazonas, Brazil. Archeometric analyses are fundamental for classification and characterization of ancient ceramics, providing relevant data that can furnish information about production processes, types of use and social meaning of these materials. The shards were studied by optical microscopy (OM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy, coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX). Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti and Fe (as oxides) were identified among other minority elements in the ceramic pastes, besides the presence of cauixi and caraipé (non-plastic materials), as well as possibly shells. The crystalline phases identified were quartz, hematite, kaolinite, anatase, dolomite and illite-muscovite, being that the kaolinite was found more frequently in ceramics. The results obtained in this work add important information about the analyzed artifacts, allowing a better understanding of the ancient civilizations from the Amazon region.

Extreme environment interconnects and packaging for power electronics

This paper presents the combination of an innovative assembly and packaging process utilising solid liquid inter diffusion (SLID) Cu-Sn interconnects within bespoke ceramic substrates that have been produced using additive manufacturing (AM). The resultant process chain supports the integration and packaging of power electronics for harsh environment applications. Here, the authors explore how the bond strength and composition of Cu-Sn SLID interconnects vary during exposure to thermal-mechanical load profiles. Samples of Cu-Sn are exposed to thermal loading up to 300°C and integrated mechanical loading via high random frequency vibrations (1 and 2000 Hz). In parallel, micro-extrusion printing methods in which high-viscosity ceramic pastes are dispensed through cylindrical fine nozzles (2–250 µm) using CNC-controlled motion has enabled complex 3D geometries to be fabricated. Additional secondary conductor deposition after firing the ceramic substrate enables the electronic circuitry to be generated without dedicated tooling, masks, or templates. This work presents the first fully 3D-printed ceramic-based electronic substrates. To demonstrate the applications of this printing method, a 555 timer circuit with flashing LED has been printed and the components surface mount assembled. The resultant ceramic substrates are dense, mechanically robust, and the reflowed circuit functions exactly as intended.

Recent Publications on Archaeological Ceramic Analyses and their Contributions to the Study of Ancient Pottery Technology

Recent Publications on Archaeological Ceramic Analyses and their Contributions to the Study of Ancient Pottery Technology

Islamic and post Islamic ceramics from the town of Santarém (Portugal): The continuity of ceramic technology in a transforming society

The study presents and discuss the results obtained by the archaeometrical investigation carried out on Islamic and post Islamic ceramic recovered from the town of Santarém, located on the right bank of the river Tagus, at 80 km from Lisbon, Portugal. The objects of this study come from several archaeological excavations covering a chronological timeframe between the VIII and the XV–XVI centuries, before and after the conquest of the town by Christian in the middle of the XII century. The collection includes unpainted, white painted, red painted and glazed ceramics of Islamic and Post Islamic chronology. Amongst the glazed ceramics, 2 samples of “corda seca” polychromatic ceramics were recovered in two different workshops, in one case associated to kiln tools like stilts and kiln bars. The main goal of this study was to assess the continuity in raw material exploitation, the production technology, to assess the production of “corda seca” glazed ceramic and to understand how the Portuguese Reconquista affected ceramic technology. The mineralogy and petrography of the samples were determined by optical microscopy (OM), powder and micro X-ray diffraction (PXRD and μXRD), μRaman spectroscopy and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR). Bulk chemical analysis was obtained by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Microanalysis of the ceramic paste and of the decorative layers (glazed or painted) was performed utilizing a scanning electron microscope coupled to an energy dispersive X-ray detector (SEM-EDS). Results indicated that the samples were locally produced, suggesting, in particular a local production of poly-chromatic glazed ceramic during Islamic period in two different workshops. Ceramic technology did not change with the Portuguese Reconquista, confirming that a modification in the political power did not correspond to a change in ceramic technology.

Utilization of disperse metalworking wastes in the building ceramic production

This work is aimed at studying of possibility to use disperse metalwork wastes for building ceramic products manufacture. We performed the overall study of the composition and properties of the steel waterjet cutting disperse wastes and their behavior as part of the ceramic paste and baked ceramics. We noticed a positive effect of the wastes’ additives on the ceramic properties for three types of polymineral clay raw materials: reduction of air and fire shrinkage, strength improvement at optimal wastes content in the mixture, possibility to get quality baked ceramics at 900-950°C, improvement of the material hydro physical properties and possibility to vary the products’ colors. The received results allowed us to make a conclusion about possibility to use the steel waterjet cutting disperse wastes in the building ceramic production as a polyfunctional component: effective thinning agent, fluxing agent and component for volume coloring.

Current Research: Analysis of ceramic vessel residues from the Washington Square Mound Site (41NA49) for evidence of peyote use by the Caddo in the 13th-15th centuries A.D.

In 2012, Perttula requested permission from to the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma's Repatriation Committee to analyze small samples (ca. 1-2 grams of ceramic paste, or sherds ca. 1-2 square centimeters in size) from the paste of five vessels from Features 31 and 95 at the Washington Square Mound site (41NA49) (Perttula et al. 2010) in East Texas to identify residue traces of the Caddo's use of peyote in the 13th-15th centuries A.D. The Caddo Nation of Oklahoma gave their permission to conduct these ceramic vessel residue studies.

THE BUILDING CERAMIC FROM THE EXCAVATIONS OF THE «CAVE TOWN» ESKI-KERMEN IN 1936—1937: THE CATALOGUE OF FINDS FROM THE FOUNDS OF THE BAKHCHYSARAI MUSEUM-PRESERVE

The article is about republication of the complex of the building ceramics from the excavations of the «cave town» Eski-Kermen. At the first time this complex was published in 1941 by N. I. Repnikov, who was the author of the excavations, and in the 1950 and 1979 by A. L. Yakobson. This researcher made the complex of roof tiles an important part of his medieval building ceramics investigation. The central peculiarity of these works was a special attention for the craft marks on the tiles and ignorance of common forms and ceramic paste of the tegulaes and imbrexes. Such approach led to serious mistakes in the tiles dating. The republication of this complex based on the modern methodology of roof tiles analysis is an important step for correction of these mistakes and for mainstreaming of its scientific significance. As a result roof tiles from the excavation of the Eski-Kermen were listed by the morphological and technological features and drawn with the accuracy. Instead of small-scale pictures of craft marks without the tegula background as in previous works, this publication presents pictures in scale 1 : 4, where the smallest details of the production were represented in full-size.
 This methodology showed its positive results in the work with the building ceramics from Eski-Kermen. There are three main branches of these results. At first, the work with the roof tiles from excavation of the Eski-Kermen in 1936—1937 showed mistakes in the pictures of the craft marks in the A. L. Yakobson works. One of the craft mark with the complex design was separated into the two parts, which were dated differently. At-second, some craft marks, which were absent in N. I. Repnikov and A. L. Yakobson works, were published for the first time. The craft mark with the ship and fantastic beast is the most significant of it. At-third, the tegulaes from the N. I. Repnikov excavations were dated according to the technological and morphological classification and by the findings some analogies from modern excavations. The chronology of tiles proposed in this work is demonstrated that the excavations on the Eski-Kermen in the 1936—1937 discovered stratigraphy contexts of the four periods: IX—X c., X — first half of the XIII c., the second half of the XIII c. and XIV c., which weren’t described by N. I. Repnikov.

A new fifteenth-to-sixteenth-century pottery kiln on the Tagus basin, Portugal

A detailed archaeometric study of pottery was made of a fifteenth-to-sixteenth-century kiln located inside the walls of the Castle of Alenquer. The locally collected sherds are lead glazed, and mostly exhibit a green or dark yellow decoration. Only in one case, a fragment of a bowl, tin oxide was detected in the white glaze. Pastes from the ceramics of the Alenquer kiln were spectroscopically characterized in terms of their mineralogical and elemental composition. This pottery was fired twice, the first time at high temperatures to produce the biscotto, and the second time at lower temperatures to glaze the ceramics. Although only one type of raw material collected locally was used, two types of ceramic pastes were detected and organized into two groups: one produced at about 850 °C and another at about 950 °C. Pastes from Group 1 were converted into Group 2 pastes whenever the temperature of the kiln was raised from 850 to 950 °C, as confirmed by firing Group 1 pastes in an oven. These results were compared with those obtained for coeval ceramics, namely at Santo Antonio da Charneca and Mata da Machada. Both kilns were located on the south shore of the river Tagus (Lisbon), as previously reported. The first archaeometric study of ceramics produced in the kiln of Alenquer, (Portugal, fifteenth to sixteenth centuries) is reported, with the use of surface spectroscopies techniques, namely micro-Raman. Significant differences were found from two coeval kilns also located at the Tagus basin, Santo Antonio da Charneca and Mata da Machada.

Archaeometric constraints by multidisciplinary study of Richborough 527 amphorae and yellow clays from the C.da Portinenti pottery workshop (Lipari Island, Italy)

During the archeological excavations carried out from 1993 to 1995 at C.da Portinenti, at Lipari Island, a pottery workshop dated to Roman age—including a kiln dump containing both Richborough 527 type amphora wastes and ceramic shreds—was discovered. The Richborough 527 amphorae had been used to transport local volcanic and hydrothermal products throughout the Roman Empire. Here, we present the results of a multidisciplinary archaeometric study carried out with the aim to shed light on the provenance of the raw materials used in the production of the Richborough 527 amphorae. To achieve this goal, amphora wastes and a sample of yellow clays stored in the archeological excavation area have been analyzed, and the data were compared to those available for clays coming from Lipari and from the Messina Province. The overall results indicate that (i) a volcanic sand from Portinenti Valley was used as temper in the ceramic mixture; (ii) the geochemical features and the fossils present in the ceramic paste are compatible with marine Pleistocene clayey deposits of the Messina Province and incompatible with the clays of Lipari island; (iii) the yellow clays found in the excavation area were not used to produce the Richborough 527; and (iv) the analyzed wastes are the results of a poorly controlled firing temperature during the ceramic artifact production.

Investigation towards the optimum of power capability, ageing stability and costs effectiveness on thick film resistor pastes for AlN ceramics

Abstract The focus of this work was the optimization of a 10 Ω/□ thick film resistor (TFR) paste composition to obtain increased power capability, aging stability and minimum use of ruthenium oxide for cost savings without changing the defined narrow sheet resistance (R□) and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) specifications. In times of highly fluctuating precious metal costs, the use of a minimum of the precious metal ruthenium respectively ruthenium dioxide is one essential part for cost-effectiveness. The thick film paste formulation consists of the electrically conducting phase ruthenium dioxide, a lead-free glass phase and two inorganic additives for tuning thermo-mechanical and electrical properties of the formed films. A phthalate free organic vehicle with ethyl cellulose polymer was used to formulate a screen printable ceramic thick film paste. For this paper, RuO2 powders with various specific surface area values (BET) were prepared by thermal annealing of a precipitated fine ruthenium dioxide powder. All other solid and liquid components of the paste were the same as used for IKTS 10 Ω/□ TFR paste FK9611 for AlN substrates. Furthermore, the content of ruthenium dioxide in the paste compositions was changed systematically around an assumed target content to achieve the desired sheet resistivity. Concurrent to the variation of the ruthenium dioxide content the inorganic additives had to be adapted too. The influence of the variations of raw material and paste composition on the film properties were investigated by screen printing 24 resistors of 2 mm × 1 mm dimension on an 1” × 1” AlN substrate, firing at 850 °C for 10 minutes in air atmosphere and subsequently measuring R□, TCR, the stability of resistance ΔR/R0 effected by artificial aging of the resistors (stored 100 up to 1000 hours @ 200°C) and the maximum rated power dissipation (MRPD) as well as short term overload voltage (STOL). The results are discussed in regard to find an optimum between all demands of the most important electrical film properties.