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With increasing ballistic threat levels, there is ever more demand on developing ceramic armor designs with improved performance. This paper presents finite element simulations that investigate the performance of silicon carbide ceramic with steel 4340 backing material and titanium alloy, graphite as buffer layers when subjected to normal and oblique impacts by a tungsten alloy long rod projectile (LRP). Depth of penetration from experimental measurements is compared with simulations to confirm the validity of constitutive, failure model parameters. Titanium alloy cover plate and graphite interface weak layer laterally spread the impact shock away from the SiC tile and reduces the amplification of the stress accumulation at the front surface of the SiC tile. The dwelling time increases before it penetrates into ceramic armor. Further, using AUTODYN® numerical simulations detailed parametric study is carried out to identify the minimum areal density armor for a given ballistic limit velocity. The equivalent protection factor for the bi-layer armor is a simple function of the cosine of the angle of impact.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is one of the most common methods for sterilizing materials with suspected biological warfare agent contamination. In this study, UV laser sterilization of ceramic tiles was investigated as a method for destroying Bacillus atrophaeus spores. The effects of UV irradiation were evaluated as a function of water absorption (porous and vitrified), tile color (black and white), and surface brightness (matte and glossy). Spores were loaded onto the surface of each tile and irradiated with a 266-nm UV laser. The irradiated spores were then removed by scraping with a razor blade and cultured in an agar plate for 24 h. The sterilizing effects of the UV laser were greater on the vitrified (group BIb) tiles than on the porous (group BIII) tiles. In addition, sterilization was more effective on white and matte tiles than on black and glossy tiles, respectively.

The production of ceramic tiles with larger sizes and reduced thickness has increased the challenge of producing high-quality ceramic tiles in short single-firing cycles. For porcelain tiles, the pressing step is of upmost importance for the microstructure of the green bodies. The particle size distribution, mineral composition of the pastes and porosity before firing define the water flow during the decoration process. Hydro deformation is the curvature of unfired ceramic tiles caused by water absorption during the decoration step before firing. In this work, the hydro deformation is studied in function of tile thickness, compaction, and clay composition according to a 2K factorial design. Two compositions of porcelain tiles (glazed and polished) were pressed at two thicknesses (3–6 mm) and pressing pressures (35.5–49.8 MPa) forming ceramic tiles with 55 × 110 mm² of surface area. Chemical (XRF), mineralogical (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG), specific surface area (BET), granulometric, bulk density, and porosity analyses were performed for the green tiles of both compositions. To simulate the hydro deformation during the decoration step, the curvature (mm) of the tiles was studied within a 0–180 min interval. The water absorption rate through the surface (g.m−2·s−1) of the tiles in an interval of 0–180 s was studied as a function of thickness, pressure and porcelain tile composition. As a result, the thickness of the tiles can change the curvatures from concave to convex. Pressing conditions and composition of the tiles can change the water absorption rates. Porcelain tiles with higher content of clay minerals develop convex curvatures. For tiles with lower content of clay minerals, concave curvatures were developed.

Considering the risk of leakage and the complexity of processing technology, a passive cooling first wall has been developed in the low magnetic side. The anticipated heat flux limit of the first wall is about 0.3 MW/m2. In order to enhance thermal transfer, the main materials of the first wall is made of copper alloy (CuCrZr) and graphite tile. A layer of flexible graphite is placed in the interface of CuCrZr and graphite tile to increase thermal contact resistance. Transient thermal analysis has been used to predict the whole heat transfer process for normal operating discharge in a day. Through the simulation, we can get the temperature change history of each component in 24 hours. The temperature and stresses of the passive cooling first wall are found to be within the acceptable limits. The maximum temperature of this first wall is about 307 °C which appears on the graphite tile. The results of the maximum temperature distribution are imported into the structure for calculation. Finally, the elasto-plastic fatigue analysis method is used to check the structural analysis results, and the results show that the structure meets the high parameter discharge mode of more than 480,000 times.

In this study, the effect of perlite from NW Turkey on the physical properties of ceramic tile bodies was investigated. The phases present in the raw materials were measured by X-ray diffraction while chemical analysis of the raw materials were determined by X-ray flouresence. Colour, water absorption and firing shrinkage of the raw materials were investigated. The data obtained from this study showed that the addition of NW Turkey perlites improved sintering behaviour of ceramic tile bodies, Therefore, alternative tile compositions were formulated using perlite as a substitute for common alkali bearing raw materials. The sintering behaviour of the standard bodies and that of the perlite containing bodies were characterized using a double-beam optical non-contact dilatometer. Moreover, the effect of perlite on firing shrinkage (%), water absorption (%), apparent porosity (%), apparent density (g/cm3), bending strength and colour values (L, a, b) were studied and resultant microstructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope studies (SEM). It was clearly observed that perlite improves sinterability of the tile bodies but increases the firing shrinkage due to the presence of water in its structure. The low thermal expansion values of the sintered bodies containing perlite makes it a visible raw material for porcelain stoneware tiles. Resumen: Se ha investigado el efecto de una perlita de la región de Biga (noroeste de Turquía) sobre las propiedades físicas de composiciones estándar de gres porcelánico. Las fases presentes en las materias primas y su composición química se han determinado por difracción de Rx y fluorescencia de Rx, respectivamente. También se determinó algunas propiedades físicas de las materias primas cocidas como el color, la contracción y la absorción de agua. Se han planteado composiciones alternativas empleando perlita como sustituto de materias primas aportadoras de óxidos alcalinos. El comportamiento en la sinterización de las composiciones propuestas ha sido evaluado por dilatometría. Además, también se ha estudiado el efecto de la perlita sobre las propiedades físicas de las piezas sinterizadas, así como sobre las fases y la microestructura de las mismas mediante difracción de Rx y microscopía electrónica de barrido. Se observó que la perlita mejora la sinterabilidad de las piezas, pero aumenta la contracción de cocción debido, en parte, al contenido de agua estructural de este mineral. Se observó claramente que la perlita mejora la sinterización de las de los azulejos, pero aumenta la contracción de cocción debido a la presencia de agua en su estructura. Los bajos valores de expansión térmica de piezas sinterizadas que contienen perlita lo convierten en una materia prima visible para las baldosas de gres porcelánico.

Ceramic foams were prepared from ceramic tile polishing waste and fly ash with borax as a fluxing agent at 925 °C. The foaming mechanism of SiC and the effects of borax on the mechanical properties, cellular morphology, and phase composition were investigated. The addition of 18 wt% borax lowered the sintering temperature by 300 °C and accelerated the passive oxidation of SiC, thus promoting the foaming process. The optimum ceramic foam obtained at 925 °C featured a homogenous porous structure, with an average pore diameter, low bulk density, high compressive strength, and high porosity of 1.20 mm, 0.55 g/cm3, 7.8 MPa, and 79.4%, respectively. The excellent mechanical properties make ceramic foams potential candidates for lightweight panels for partition walls and ceiling tiles in building applications.

O uso de revestimentos cerâmicos é muito utilizado na construção civil, principalmente no Brasil, pelas vantagens que confere à edificação. No processo de fabricação das placas cerâmicas, atualmente, muitas delas passam pelo processo de retificação, que consiste na padronização das dimensões e retificação das laterais. Como resultado do processo de retífica, é gerado um pó residual (RRC – resíduo de retífica cerâmica) seco e de granulometria fina e que conforme os ensaios realizados, possui alto teor de sílica e alumina, porém pelo difratograma de raio x verifica-se a presença de cristais. Para o assentamento dos revestimentos cerâmicos tradicionalmente são empregadas as argamassas colantes industrializadas, às quais são compostas, essencialmente, de aglomerante hidráulico, agregado mineral, aditivos (dependendo a finalidade) e água. Sendo materiais correlacionados e buscando analisar a possiblidade de reinclusão do resíduo como material útil na construção civil, o objetivo deste estudo foi verificar as influências da substituição parcial da areia pelos RRC de monoporosa e de porcelanato, separadamente. Para tal, foram estudados sete formulações de traço, sendo 1 padrão e 3 diferentes composições em percentuais de substituição de 10, 15 e 20% para cada tipo de resíduo. Foram realizados ensaios com a argamassa no estado fresco e endurecido, sendo eles: índice de consistência, retenção de água, resistência de aderência à tração, determinação do tempo em aberto e absorção de água por capilaridade. Como resultado, foi possível observar que a inclusão de uma maior fração de finos na composição da argamassa afeta diretamente as características da mistura no estado fresco e endurecido. O aumento da área específica do agregado mineral acarreta demanda maior quantidade de pasta nas composições, o que reduz o índice de consistência, a redução da resistência de aderência e o não atendimento do tempo em aberto de 15 minutos, conforme o aumento do percentual de resíduo aplicado.

For protection against high velocity projectile such as 7.62 mm or 5.56 mm, multilayered armor system (MAS) is suitably the best option. In the present work, the experimental study on MAS with a front Al2O3 ceramic tile followed by a composite of jute and kevlar reinforced with epoxy matrix has been studied. The analytical result has found to meet the performance requirement as specified by NIJ0101.06 when tested against 7.62 mm hard steel core (HSC) and mild steel core (MSC) projectile. It was found that all MAS with double ceramic tile has successfully defeated HSC and MSC projectile with maximum observed back face signature (BFS) as 26.71 mm and 28.70 mm, respectively. In case of single monolithic ceramic, 25.80 mm and 35.12 mm were the maximum observed BFS against HSC and MSC projectile. The extent of projectile damage has been more in HSC when compared to the MSC. Blunt erosion and core breakage were peculiar observations in HSC core, whereas a mushrooming and bulging were observed in MSC core. Macro- and SEM analysis of MAS has been studied to understand the energy dissipation and failure mechanism.

The effect of adding 0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 1.0 wt.% halloysite clay, which calcined at 600, 800, 1000 and 1200°C, to the standard wall tile slurry was studied. Wet milled halloysite was sieved with different sizes to examine the halloysite grain size effect. The granulated samples were pressed by applying a pressure of 30 MPa using a hydraulic press and made ready for sintering at 1150°C for 30 minutes. Detailed technological, mechanical and microstructural characterization studies were done on sintered samples. Compared to standard wall tile, almost all the halloysite added samples displayed similar technological properties but higher green and fired strength values. The produced sample with adding 0.6% halloysite (at 600°C calcined) by weight showed a higher firing strength with 28.75 MPa value than the minimum requirement (17.75 MPa). Observation of needlelike microstructure in the porcelain body led to establishing a simple relationship between the interlocking effects of thin needlelike mullite grains and increasing strength values. This study has shown that the addition of calcined halloysite may be an alternative to produce a thinner section wall tile product.

PurposeThe main challenge in preparing body armor is achieving a high protection level by using lightweight materials with minimum cost.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, a three-hybrid multilayered armor system is prepared for protection against a ballistic impact wave. These armor systems consist of glass or ceramic tile as a front layer followed by three intermediate layers made of woven fiber reinforced polymer composites and a back layer made of either aluminum or polypropylene.FindingsAll armor systems were successful in impeding the projectile from perforating, that is materials selection played an important role in stopping the ballistic impact wave. Almost an identical ballistic behavior was recorded between the experimental and numerical simulation by using ANSYS AUTODYN which means that the simulation could be used in advance to reduce the time required for practical experiments and the cost of using materials in experimental tests will be lessened. The effect of projectile geometry also had been studied, and it showed a noticeable role in changing ballistic behavior.Originality/valueThe originality of this research is in using carbon and glass fiber which are woven together in addition to adding polypropylene layers in armor preparation.

The research article focuses on succinct characterization of pineapple leaf fibers before and after different chemical modification techniques so as to ease its usage in developing light weight com...

We consider the principles of creating organosilicon natural-drying coatings with thermal resistance up to 1200°C and minimal internal stresses and present the design of a heat-shielding tile for a life-saving appliance capable of overcoming a burning oil slick. The necessary heat-shielding properties of the tile, providing an increase in the cladding temperature of the universal life-saving equipment of no more than 30°C under heating of the outer tile surface up to 1150°C for 10 min, are achieved by means of development of heat-resistant organosilicon coatings.

In this study, investigation of the different materials combinations used for roof insulation in Iraq has been conducted. Rate of heat transfer and cost analysis were performed using three samples of roof insulation combinations commonly used in Iraq in addition to the reinforced cement roof as a threshold for comparison. The materials used in these combinations include; concrete tile, sand, concrete, and cork. The study results showed that the rate of heat flow reduced by 79%, 98% and 98% with the implementation of combination B, C and D respectively compared to that of concrete without insulation. However, the cost of materials and construction have been increased when using these combinations compared to that of concrete without insulation. The extra cost per unit reduction of heat flow increased by 60%, 100% and 150% when using combination B, C and D respectively compared to that of concrete without insulation. Though sample D shows slightly better insulation performance, extra cost per unit reduction of heat flow observed compared to sample C. Accordingly, the addition of more insulations in sample D represent extra cost without any significant reduction in the heat flow and the optimum combination achieved with sample C compared to B and D.

The role of the liquid phase in the formation of the microstructure of a clay tile possessing various physical and engineering characteristics is determined. The effect of the nature of raw materials and ratio of alkali oxides to alkaline-earth oxides on the formation of various calcium-containing crystal phases at low-temperature sintering is determined.

The application of ceramic elements in exterior environments such as facades and floors is a common practice, even when more compliant supports are applied. Such conditions naturally conduct to significant stress increase at the level of the system bonding of ceramic elements. For example, thermal differential expansions in the different materials as result of the temperature gradient from the external surface up to internal layers can build-up stresses at the interfaces, in a magnitude level in excess of the bonding stresses binding them. A proposed finite element modeling was applied in previous works, in which the temperature field distribution from the origin of the thermal source induces a temperature variation carried out incrementally in the simulation. A temperature gradient is assumed from the exposed face, through the elements interfaces until the internal ceramic-adhesive mass. Using the same numerical model, this research led to the evaluation of the equivalent von Mises thermal stress criterion. Adopting different elastic modulus combinations for the tile adhesive and the joint grout, it is recognized how much this property can impact the final stresses and contribute to the best option about the field of application. In fact, independently from the adopted conditions, it is shown that best joint performance is particularly achieved when elastic modulus of the joint grout has lower values, such as 0.1 GPa. On another hand, other key parameters are also very relevant, as the case of the joint width and the support rigidity level.

Three different alumina/aluminum bi-layer armors having different striking faces, i.e., monolithic alumina, mosaic alumina, and mosaic alumina enhanced by aluminum honeycomb, were fabricated and tested under the impact of the flat projectile. The ballistic performance of each armor type was also investigated using three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) simulations. Upon validating the FE simulation results with experimental measurements, the ballistic limit velocity and failure mechanisms for each type of armor, as well as the influence of ceramic tile size, impact position, border effect, and inter tile gap width were quantified. For the enhanced mosaic armor, the metallic honeycomb lattice performed as a cellular skeleton to confine the ceramic tiles and fragments, leading to enhanced ballistic resistance. Besides, the honeycomb enhanced mosaic armor was also found to have much improved multi-hit ballistic resistance in comparison with monolithic and mosaic alumina. The honeycomb preserved the structural integrity of the mosaic armor so that a high level of residual ballistic resistance remained even after impact. With the extended reliability calculation method, single shot ballistic data were used to estimate the performance of the honeycomb enhanced mosaic armor under multiple projectile impacts.

Used in the ceramic tile market as a representative building material, relief ceramic tile is showing increased demand recently. Since ceramic tiles are manufactured through a sintering process at over 1,000 oC after uniaxial compression molding by loading granule powders into a mold, it is very important to secure the flowability of granular powders in a mold having a relief pattern. In this study, kaolin, silica, and feldspar are used as starting materials to prepare granule powders by a spray dryer process; the surface of the granule powders is subject to hydrophobic treatment with various concentrations of stearic acid. The effect on the flowability of the granular powder according to the change of stearic acid concentration is confirmed by measuring the angle of repose, tap density, and compressibility, and the occurrence of cracks in the green body produced in the mold with the relief pattern is observed. Then, the green body is sintered by a fast firing process, and the water absorption, flexural strength, and durability are evaluated. The surface treatment of the granule powders with stearic acid improves the flowability of the granule powders, leading to a dense microstructure of the sintered body. Finally, the hydrophobic treatment of the granule powders makes it possible to manufacture relief ceramic tiles having a flexural strength of 292 N/cm, a water absorption of 0.91 %, and excellent mechanical durability

In this work, the enhancement of thermal and sound insulation properties of cement composite roofing tile with nanocellulose coated pineapple fiber and modified waste tire rubber is studied. The composite was composed of bacterial nanocellose (BNC) coated pineapple fibers, modified rubber particles, platicizer and type I Portland cement in the weight ratio of 10:50:0.8:100 with the water to cement ratio (w/c) of 0.5. The thermal conducitity of the fiber rubber cement composite could be reduced to 0.1080 ± 0.0048 W/m.K as opposed to 0.3810 ± 0.0041 and 0.5860 ± 0.0050 W/m.K for the fiber cement and the rubber cement composites, respectively. Moreover, the noise reduction coefficient of the fiber rubber cement composite could be increased to 0.2832 as opposed to 0.2143 and 0.1899 for the fiber cement and the rubber cement composites, respectively. These results revealed that adding nanocellulose coated pineapple fiber and modified rubber particles together to the cement composite can enhance the thermal insulation and sound absorption abilities of the composite roof tile significantly better than adding each constituent separately.

Purpose. Development of new fire-resistant heat-shielding materials in order to increase energy efficiency and fire safety of buildings and structures. Findings. Based on the chemical processes between the main components, such as dolomite and wollastonite minerals, standard sodium liquid glass and mineral acids, as well as the addition of organic fillers, new porous compositions were obtained. A technology has been developed to produce a new porous tile material. Studies of some fire-technical characteristics of the materials obtained showed that the new material is non-combustible. Application field of research. The research results presented are obtained in the field of synthesizing new porous materials and can be used in the field of increasing fire and thermal protection of building structures and materials.

A graphene tile based phase change material was reported to function as thermal storage material and light absorption material simultaneously, which achieved directly efficient solar-to-thermal con...

After the consolidation of the digital decoration technology in the ceramic tile industry, digital glazing is the next step toward a fully digital decoration line. To make this possible, a key requirement, regarding glaze suspensions characteristics, is the reduction of the actual particle size of the solids. In this context, the objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of the particle size distribution of frits used to produce a transparent glaze on the glaze layer characteristics and the ink behavior over the same. A frit was milled under different conditions. The milling process has mainly reduced the size of the larger particles, leading to narrower particle size distributions. As the distribution curves narrowed, the particles packing efficiency in the glaze layer decreased. For these more porous layers, faster ink absorption into the surface pores and a consequent more limited ink spreading were observed, which leaded to the production of smaller dots. Thus, changes in granulometry of the glaze raw materials affected not only the glaze layer porous structure, but also aspects of the image quality. Resumen: Después de la consolidación de la tecnología de decoración digital en la industria de las baldosas cerámicas, la esmaltación digital es el siguiente paso hacia una línea de decoración completamente digital. Para hacer esto posible, un requisito clave, con respecto a las características de las suspensiones de esmalte, es la reducción del tamaño de partícula actual de los sólidos. En este contexto, el objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar el efecto de la distribución del tamaño de partícula de las fritas utilizadas para producir un esmalte transparente en las características de la capa de esmalte y el comportamiento de la tinta sobre el mismo. La frita fue molida en diferentes condiciones. El proceso de molienda redujo principalmente el tamaño de las partículas más grandes, lo que lleva a distribuciones de tamaño de partícula más estrechas. A medida que las curvas de distribución se estrecharon, la eficiencia del empaquetamiento de las partículas en la capa de esmalte disminuyó. Para estas capas más porosas, se observó una absorción más rápida de la tinta en los poros de la superficie y una consiguiente propagación de la tinta más limitada, lo que condujo a la producción de puntos más pequeños. Por lo tanto, los cambios en la granulometría de las materias primas del esmalte afectaron no solo a la estructura porosa de la capa de esmalte, sino también aspectos de la calidad de la imagen. Keywords: Ceramic glaze, Particle size, Porosity, Digital decoration, Palabras clave: Esmalte cerámico, Tamaño de partícula, Porosidad, Decoración digital

The use of photocatalysts to enhance the performance of construction materials with large surfaces exposed to sunlight has become an increasingly common practice in recent decades. Although construction material durability is of crucial importance and is extensively studied when incorporating new additions, very few studies have specifically addressed the effects when adding photocatalysts. This paper discusses the effect of TiO2-based photocatalysts on pavement durability (porosity, time of transmission of ultrasonic pulses, freeze-thaw resistance and capillary water absorption) and safety (slip resistance and roughness) by comparison of commercial photocatalytic materials of different families and twin materials without the photocatalyst added. The analysis covers concrete tile pavements and porous asphalt treated with photocatalysts in the form of sprayed emulsions, slurry admixtures or built-in during casting. The findings show that changes in the properties of a construction material induced by photocatalytic functionality depend primarily on the porous structure of the matrix and the properties of the resulting photocatalytic surface., This study was co-funded by the LIFE programme (LIFE PHOTOSCALING, LIFE 13/ENV/ES/001221, http://www.life-photoscaling.eu/).

This study is focused on the behavior of the cream-firing clays from Opoczno region (Poland). The ceramic masses on which tests were carried out consisted of cream-firingBorkowice clay and dolomite in two different grain sizes as an additive that changes the color of ceramic materials. Test samples were prepared by plastic method and fired at range of 1100–1240 °C. Phase composition of theinvestigated materials was characterized by XRD method with quantitive analysis of the amorphous phase determined by the Retvield technique. Color properties of the surface of the obtained ceramic materials were determined in CIE-Lab color space. The phase composition of the obtained ceramics depends on the firing temperature. The color of the surface of the ceramic materials also depends on the firing temperature. There was a tendency to decrease the brightness, decrease the blue shade, and increase the yellow shade of the surface of materials with increasing the temperature. The conducted tests allowed to conclude that the color of ceramic materials depends on their phase composition. The most important role in the formation of color correspond to the amorphous phase, formed during the process. The lower content of the amorphous phase in the material allows to obtain brighter products with a lower proportion of yellow, and therefore closer to white. Moreover, following tests were carried out: total water absorption, total open porosity, linear shrinkage, and flexural strength. With increasing the temperature, total water absorption and total open porosity decrease, and total linear shrinkage increases due to the progressive sintering process. Flexural strength increases with the increase of the firing temperature for materials consisting of Borkowice clay. The addition of dolomite introduced new pores into the material, which resulted in an increase in flexural strength at lower firing temperatures and a decrease in flexural strength at higher firing temperatures.

This study was intended to determine the physicomechanical properties of porcelain tiles made from raw materials in Uganda, hitherto not used for the same. The raw materials were mixed in proportions of 40–60% clays, 30–40% feldspar and 10–30% sand, the goal was to identify a mixture with properties that meet the ISO 13006 standards after firing. Test tile samples were formulated at a pressure of 40 MPa and fired from 1050 to 1250 °C in steps of 50 °C. A firing rate of 40 °C per minute and a dwell time of 2 h were applied. The microstructures and phase analysis of the fired samples were studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD), respectively. The XRD analysis revealed mullite and quartz as crystalline phases present in the fired bodies. At 1150 °C, the SEM micrograph depicted few, short and thick mullite fibers. At 1200 °C, the mullite population increased. The nature of the fibers (long, fine and more interlocking) resulted in an increase in flexural strength. A further rise in temperature had no significant change on the nature of the fibers and flexural strength of the samples. The best properties; flexural strength (33 MPa) and water absorption (0.08%) were exhibited at 1200 °C by samples with 30–40% kaolin, 30–40% feldspar, 20% ball clay and 10% sand. The results indicate that these samples are comparable to the ISO 13006 standards for porcelain tiles which are ≥ 35±2 MPa flexural strength and

This work aims to evaluate the effects of feldspar substitution by basalt on porcelain tile composition with respect to its porosity, flexural strength, and pyroplastic deformation. Three ceramic formulations with different amounts of feldspar substituted with basalt, 50% (C1), 75% (C2), and 100% (C3), were evaluated at three different temperatures, 1200, 1220, and 1240 °C. Specifically, the effect of replacing feldspar with basalt on the pyroplastic deformation of ceramic bodies was analysed using optical fleximetry. The porosity of C1 at 1200 °C was 19.3 ± 2.9%, while that of composition C3 was 22.2 ± 0.7% at 1240 °C. The flexural strength was strongly influenced by the temperature. For C1 at 1200 and 1240 °C, flexural strengths of 11.1 ± 0.6 and 22.2 ± 1.9 MPa, respectively, were obtained. Regarding fleximetry, thermal deformation decreased with an increase in the amount of feldspar substituted with basalt. It was observed that C2 and C3 deformed less at high temperatures than the other combinations of compositions and temperature, probably owing to the lower amount of residual glass phase present during cooling. Compositions with higher substitution amounts of basalt (i.e., C2 and C3) exhibited more stable thermal behaviour than C0.

Nowadays, ceramic floor or wall tiles have been composed mainly of large ceramic tiles with low water absorption, which requires a greater need for bond strength between the tile and the adhesive mortar. Some researchers argue that adhesion is obtained mainly by mechanical interlocking, while othersclaim that adhesion is obtained mainly by increasing the contact surface. To provide this increase in the contact surface, some studies indicate the use of surface modifiers on the back of the ceramic plate. Thus, this research aimed to evaluate the influence of surface treatment on tensile strength. The research showed that factors such as the polymer content of the adhesive mortar, the absorption and the roughness of the ceramic back were more influential in the tensile strength than the use of the mentioned surface treatments.

The depth of penetration (DOP) method is a well-known ballistic test method for characterisation and ranking of ceramic armour materials. The ceramic tile is bonded to a backing material of semi-infinite thickness, and the penetration depth of the projectile gives a measure of the performance of the ceramic. There is, however, an inherent variability in the results from this test method. In this work, the accuracy and the variability of the DOP method has been investigated in a round robin exercise. Six ballistic test centres took part in the exercise. A test protocol was developed, in which the threat type (projectile and impact conditions) and a procedure on how to prepare the targets were specified. The targets consisted of alumina tiles of two different thicknesses that were bonded to polycarbonate backing cubes. Two different 7.62 mm armour piercing projectiles were employed; one with a hard steel core and one with a tungsten carbide core. The projectiles and the other materials all came from single material batches in order to avoid batch-to-batch variations in material properties. These materials were distributed between the ballistic test centres. The test results of the different ballistic test facilities were collected and compared. There was not a lot of variation between the average DOP values obtained at each laboratory, but the variation in penetration depth between shots was high. The consequence of this variation may be less confidence in the test results, and a statistical method was used to evaluate the required number of tests that are sufficient to obtain an average result with high confidence. In most cases, the required number of tests is much higher than what is practically feasible. This work was conducted as part of the European Defence Agency-project CERAMBALL. Keywords: Ballistics, Depth of penetration, Test method, Armour, Ceramic, Statistics

As part of the increasing effort to reutilize of residue generated from industrial activities, an attempt hasbeen made to utilize marble tile waste as a potential filler in natural rubber (NR) composite when lowstrength applications are required. In the experimental part, 10 μm size of marble tile waste powder(MTWP), with five different loadings up to 40 parts per hundred of rubber (phr) were used in NRcomposites to study the effect of MTWP loading on the cure characteristics and mechanical properties.The addition of MTWP as filler resulted in shorter cure time and scorch time which is preferable inrubber processing. It also enhanced the properties of tensile modulus and hardness while tensilestrength, elongation at break and swelling ratio decreased with increasing MTWP loading. This studythus shows that MTWP can be used as economical alternative filler in NR compound and has potential asa partial replacement of reinforcing filler like carbon black in various rubber products. Keywords: natural rubber, filler, composite, marble tile waste

The ballistic performance of multilayered armor system (MAS) with front ceramic tile, followed by a laminate of up to 50 vol.% of fique fabric-reinforced epoxy matrix and back by a 5062H34 aluminum alloy was evaluated. The backface signature (BFS) caused by the bullet in a block of clay witness behind the target was used to evaluate the MAS ballistic performance according to international standards. The results using high-velocity 7.62 mm ammunition show a BFS similar to a MAS second layers of Kevlar™ laminate with the same thickness. The Weibull analysis statistically provides the reliability of BFS test results. Fracture examinations by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the epoxy-fique fabric composite has different types of energy dissipation mechanisms. These are the same capture of ceramic fragments by a mechanic of incrustation presented in Kevlar™ laminate. Among the tested materials, the 40 vol.% fabric composite was found to be a better alternative to replace Kevlar™. The lower cost of the epoxy-fique fabric composite is an additional advantage that favors its substitution for the aramid fabric. Keywords: Fique fiber, Natural fiber composite, Weibull analysis, Ballistic performance

[EN] The impact resistance method is a useful procedure to determine the tile resistance. While other works are focused on modifying the tile support to improve the impact resistance, in this work, a new glass-ceramic material was developed to used it as glaze coating in order to relax impact tensions. This material possesses a hierarchical nano-microstructure consisted of microcrystal surrounded by nanostructured regions having low glassy phase, which is considered responsible for tension relaxations. The resilience coefficient measured in conventional and glass-ceramic glazes presents little differences (0.85–0.88). However, impact damages on the surface is totally inhibited for glass-ceramic coating while the conventional one suffers great flaking. These damages were analyzed by Optical profilometry and FESEM to compare the impact resistance and to correlate it with its microstructure. The results confirm that the micro-nanostructured coating paves the way to improve impact resistance in ceramic materials where surface damage is a critical parameter., MINECO (Spain) project MAT2017-86450-C4-1-R, and project CDTI of CTV for theirfinancial support. Dra. E. Enriquez is also indebted to MINECO (Spain) for a“Torres Quevedo’’contract (ref: PTQ-14-07289), which is co-financedwith European Social Funds

It is through the recycling process that disposed waste materials could regain a new purpose on their use, take for instance the tetrapak™ packaging. This material consists of thermally joint layers of paper, aluminum and polyethylene. Once recycled, the two latter materials form a new composite named poly-aluminum which is employed to manufacture roof tiles that serve as environmental protection against solar radiation and rain. This work reports an optical nondestructive comparison study of the surface deformation in poly-aluminum and clay roof tiles exposed to heat radiation. The optical system based on a sensitive out-of-plane interferometer configuration records several image holograms from a controlled heat source that raises the temperature on the tile’s surface. The retrieved optical phase renders the tiles surface’s deformation for a temperature range of 25 degrees on a Celsius scale. The results show a greater deformation profile from the poly-aluminum tile compared with the classic clay tile. However, its thermal insulation properties are better than those of the clay roof tile.

For the manufacturing of glass-ceramic products, a monolithic glass is prepared using the same technologies for the conventional glass production, followed by a thermal-treatment of nucleation and crystal growth. An alternative process could be the production of glass-ceramic materials by pressing of glass powders and densification by sintering. In this way, the same equipment used in a traditional ceramic tile plant could be used to produce components with complex geometry. In this work, the single-firing process was used to obtain LAS glass-ceramic (Li2O.Al2O3.SiO2) tiles. The aim of the work was to determine the effect of particle size, pressing and sintering temperature on the bending strength and thermal expansion coefficient of the glass-ceramic tiles. The raw materials were melted in alumina crucibles (1480 °C, 80 min) and the obtained glass was quenched in water and annealed (600 °C). The glass was milled for 1 and 2 h (ball mill), resulting in two particle sizes, 9.1 μm (1 h) and 22 μm (2 h). The powders were granulated and pressed at 35 and 45 MPa, resulting in four processing conditions. In sequence, the compacts were dried (150 °C, 24 h) and sintered at 1175 and 1185 °C (10 °C/min heating rate). The microstructure of the glass-ceramic tiles was determined by SEM and XRD techniques. The bending strength was determined by the 3-point method and the thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) was determined by dilatometry. As a result, LAS glass-ceramics tiles were obtained, showing high modulus of flexural strength (70–80 MPa) and very low thermal expansion coefficients (1.2–1.4 × 10−6 °C−1). Surface crystallization was achieved and the main phase was β-spodumene. Sintering was simultaneous to crystallization, in a typical one-step process.

Honeycomb sandwich structures have been extensively investigated in the past decades. A kind of innovative honeycomb sandwich with ceramic tile (ceramic sandwich), was investigated here for its bending behavior by using finite-element model implemented in Abaqus/Explicit code. In our studies, a series numerical simulations of three-point bending were carried out for the ceramic sandwich and conventional aluminum honeycomb sandwich. Their numerical models were validated by experiments. As confirmed that the ceramic tile largely enhances the stiffness of the structure, which contributes a lot to the promotion of the bending resistance capacity. Parametric studies were performed to further investigate the effects brought from the ceramic tile and honeycomb core in terms of changing the thickness of ceramic tile, the thickness of honeycomb wall, the length of honeycomb cells. It was found that the bending performance heavily relay on the geometric configuration of the present sandwich panel. In addition, the ceramic sandwich with reinforced honeycomb core also shows better mechanical behavior in the simulation. All these achievements provide more likelihood of designing composited high-performance sandwich.

Honeycomb sandwich structures are widely employed in the engineering field, due to their light weight, strong rigidity and high strength. In this study, the bending resistance performance of the honeycomb sandwich panel with ceramic tile face-sheet (short as ceramic sandwich) was investigated through three-point bending experiments. Their differences between the present ceramic sandwich and the conventional ones were reported and discussed in terms of deformation mode, load-deflection history and bending resistance. As the experiments turned out that differing from the conventional sandwich panel, the present ceramic one performs different collapse modes when undergoing 3-point bending load. The results demonstrated that the bending behavior of the present ceramic sandwich was largely promoted due to the ceramic tile face-sheet. Besides, the mechanical influence of the ceramic tile face-sheet and the cell edge length of honeycomb core were determined. These achievements pave a way of designing composited superb bending resistant sandwich structures.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of boric acid and lithium carbonate on microstructure and sintering characteristics of wall tile after firing. Amount of Li2 (CO3) (0.1-0.3-0.6- 0.9-1.2-4 wt.%) were added in wall tile corresponding to each constant amount of added of H3BO3 (0.1-0.3-0.6-0.9-1.2-2 wt.%). All samples were fired in 1135 0C 35 minutes in an industrial fast firing kiln. Dry strength, fired strength, water absorption and colorimeter values of all samples were determined after firing. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, optical dilatometer measurements were performed in order to determine the microstructure and melting temperature for prescribed purpose (1-2-7-8-11-32-37). Standard (1) and alternative (8) receipe’s thermogravimetric and diferantial thermal analyses were performed. 37 (2% H3BO3 + 4% Li2 (CO3) recipe’s sintering starting temperature was 984 0C. In the recipe 8 (0.3% H3BO3 + 0.1% Li2(CO3) is an alternative to the standard wall tile, which can be used with higher strength values.

BACKGROUND: Vinyl composite tile (VCT), which is a common flooring in workplaces, is sometimes utilized as the standard floor material for mechanical slip testing experiments. Unfortunately, VCT is a sub-optimal standard test material, since it changes over time and is difficult to manufacture consistently. PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify a durable laboratory-grade substitute flooring that could provide traction results that are representative of footwear performance on VCT. METHODS: Eight polymer tiles (cast nylon, polyethylene, polycarbonate, acetal, Delrin, PTFE, polypropylene, and nylon) were tested and the available coefficient of friction (ACOF) was measured and compared with that of two VCT designs. First, a screening test was performed to identify good material candidates based on six shoes and two contaminants (water and oil). Two surrogate candidate tiles were then tested across 17 shoes and three contaminant conditions (water, sodium laurel sulfate, and oil). RESULTS: Cast nylon tile was found to be the most generalizable VCT surrogate, exhibiting strong correlations with both VCTs for oil contamination. None of candidates were representative of the VCTs for other contaminants. CONCLUSIONS: Cast nylon may be a useful alternative for VCT for standard slip testing of footwear in oily conditions.

One of the conventional ways to improve the mechanical behavior of soils is to mix them with cementing agents such as cement, lime and fly ash. Recently, introduction to alternative materials or sub-products that can be adopted to improve the soil strength is of paramount importance. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effects of porosity (η), dry unit weight (γd) of molding, cement content (C) and porosity/volumetric cement content ratio (η/Civ) or void/cement ratio on the unconfined compressive strength (qu or UCS) of silty soil–roof tile waste (RT) mixtures. Soil samples are molded into four different dry unit weights (i.e. 13 kN/m3, 13.67 kN/m3, 14.33 kN/m3 and 15 kN/m3) using 3%, 6% and 9% cement and 5%, 15% and 30% RT. The results show that with the addition of cement, the strength of the RT–soil mixtures increases in a linear manner. On the other hand, the addition of RT decreases qu of the samples at a constant percentage of cement, and the decrease in porosity can increase qu. A dosage equation is derived from the experimental data using the porosity/volumetric cement content ratio (η/Civ) where the control variables are the moisture content, crushed tile content, cement content and porosity. Keywords: Roof tile waste (RT), Voids/cement ratio, Reuse, Ground improvement

In this study is determined the thermal conductivity of a commercial ceramic considering that this property on the building materials is an essential factor, and it is the primary indicator of the suitableness of the material in the energy transfer considering that this kind of materials has many applications as thermal insulations. In this sense and considering that a commercial tile is usually composed of three layers, a substrate, a so-called engobe layer, and an enamel layer. Likewise, the thermal properties of the different layers were obtained individually by using two photothermal techniques on the ceramic material; the ceramic tile density was obtained using the Archimedes method. The calculated values show a wide range of thermal conductivity values for the different layers, ranging from1.3 to 4 W m-1K-1.

Liquid crystal (LC) devices used in 3D or tile displays require a narrow bezel design to provide seamless characteristics. Adhesives for these devices require excellent mechanical propertie...

Nature has evolved ingenious armour designs, like the flexible carapaces of armadillo and boxfish consisting of hexagonal segments connected by collagen fibres, that serve as bioinspiration for modern ballistic armours. Here, Finite element modelling (FEM) used to analyze the effect of scale geometry and other impact parameters on the ballistic protection provided by a bioinspired segmented ceramic armour. For this purpose, the impact of cylindrical fragment simulating projectiles (FSPs) onto alumina-epoxy non-overlapping scaled plates was simulated. Scale geometrical parameters (size, thickness and shape) and impact conditions (FSP diameter, speed, location) are varied and the amount of damage produced in the ceramic tiles and the final residual velocity of the FSP after the impact are evaluated. It is found that segmentation drastically reduces the size of the damaged area without significantly reducing the ballistic protection in centred impact, provided the tile size is kept over a critical value. Such critical tile size (∼20 mm, inscribed diameter, for impacts at 650 m/s) is independent of the scale thickness, but decreases with projectile speed, although never below the diameter of the projectile. Off-centred impacts reduce the ballistic protection and increase the damaged area, but this can be minimized with an appropriate tile shape. In this sense and in agreement with the natural hexagonal tiles of the boxfish and armadillo, hexagonal scales are found to be optimal, exhibiting a variation of ballistic protection—measured as reduction of projectile speed—with impact location under 12%. Design guidelines for the fabrication of segmented protection systems are proposed in the light of these numerical results. Keywords: Scaled armour, Ballistic impact, Alumina, Epoxy, Finite element analysis, Bioinspiration

Three sets of tungsten coated graphite divertor tiles (VPS-W tiles) were installed in the closed helical divertor of the Large Helical Device (LHD) instead of the graphite divertor tiles in the 2012FY plasma campaign for examining the plasma wall interaction (PWI) with divertor plasma. The first wall panels and divertor tiles of the LHD consist of stainless steels (SUS316L) and graphite, respectively. The carbon based mixed-material deposition layer including a very small amount of Fe element has been formed on not only the divertor tiles but also the first walls near the divertor tiles through the PWI processes. Such a mixed layer often causes undesirable influences for maintaining a long pulse discharge in LHD, e.g., changing the particle recycling properties and dust generation. After the single plasma campaign of the 2012FY, we confirmed drastic suppression of the mixed-material deposition layer on the first wall panels just under the VPS-W tiles. On the other hand, carbon based mixed-material deposition layer was formed on the VPS-W tile surface, where the amount of the hydrogen retention was estimated to be over ∼4 × 1021 H/m2. If we would want further suppression of the hydrogen retention on the VPS-W tiles, the plasma facing components should be replaced to a full metal wall to avoid formation of the carbon co-deposition layer. Keywords: Tungsten divertor, Dust, Hydrogen retention

The use of polymer composites in highly aggressive environments has compelled to focus the present work on enhancing the performance characteristics through matrix modifications, by incorporating suitable fillers. The present work discussed is about fabrication of tile from composite material of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic waste and fine graded Wollastonite powder as mineral admixture. Major concern of this work is to reduce the plastic waste and recycle into useful industrial products and the development of high strength and durable material which can be used in coastal & marine structures. In addition to this, they can be used in sewage systems prone to alkali attack. The main aim of this study is to know the consequences of varying the filler in HDPE polymer composites. For that purpose we have prepared a Compression Mold and fabricated specimens of composite tile of HDPE plastic waste and Wollastonite powder. Experimental investigation was carried out to study the durability and mechanical properties of the fabricated composite tile and the results obtained from these tests are comparable with the properties of ceramic tile. The compressive strength of the composite tile obtained is as high as 24 MPa and Durability properties of these tile shows that this can be used for aggressive severe environments which are prone to Corrosion.

Facility walls with high relative humidity, such as bathrooms or kitchens installed with tiles by spot-bonding methods, become far more prone to defect or adhesion failure when using large or heavy tiles and insufficient application area of adhesive but is still continued to be practiced due to their low costs in the material. Most importantly, if this practice is to be continued, the changes in adhesion strength of the tiles based on different adhesive application areas of adhesives must be clarified such that the very least secure application can be achieved even by using spot-bonding methods. In this regard, an experiment was conducted in this study where tile-adhered specimens with different adhesive-applied area ratios (AR) of 60 ± 2%, 80 ± 2%, and 100% were prepared. Tile adhesion strength was subsequently measured, after sectioning the entire surface of the tile into 40 pieces. Experimental results showed that the adhesion strength above the standard criteria could be achieved for about 75% of the entire tile with AR 100% conditioning, followed by 30% of the entire tile with AR 80 ± 2% conditioning, and 20% of the entire tile for AR 60 ± 2% conditioning. Further analysis showed that with AR 80 ± 2% and AR 60 ± 2% conditions, the overall adhesion strength decreased by the range of about 59–67% compared to the AR 100% application conditions. The results of the study intended to provide an analytical basis of guidelines and risks with the potential usage of spot-bonding and should only be used if AR 100% application is planned.

Vinyl floors are widely used in public areas for their low cost and easy cleaning. From 1960 to 1980, asbestos was often added to improve vinyl floor performances. The Italian Ministerial Decree (M.D.) 06/09/94 indicates asbestos vinyl tiles as non-friable materials and, therefore, few dangerous to human health. This work aims to check through three different experimental tests if asbestos floor tiles, after decades of use, maintain their characteristics of compactness and non-friability. The effect of a small stone fragment stuck in the sole of rubber shoes was reproduced by striking the vinyl floor with a crampon. A vinyl tile was broken into smaller pieces with the aid of pliers to simulate what normally happens when workers replace the floors or sample it to verify the presence of asbestos. The third test reproduced the abrasion of the tile surface due to the dragging of furniture or heavy materials or sand grains that remain attached to the soles of shoes. The tests were carried out in safe conditions, working under an extractor hood with a glove box. Airborne sampling in the hood obtained the concentration of asbestos fibers produced in each test. The simulation tests performed confirms the possible release of fibers if the vinyl tiles are cut, abraded or perforated, as indicated by the Italian M.D.

This study presents an investigation of the physical and mechanical properties of the cement mortar containing expanded perlite as a filler material. The effects of perlite replacement contents and compressive molding force on bulk density, water absorption, and flexural strength were observed. In the mixture of mortar, the content of sand was replaced with perlite ranging from 0 to 15% by weight. The specimen was pressed under the uniaxial force varied from 20 to 40 kN then de-molded and cured in the humidity for 28 days. With the increase in perlite content from 0 to 15 wt%, the bulk density decreased from 2118 kg/m3 to 1586 kg/m3 while the water absorption increased from 7.4% to18.7%. All composites showed a low thermal conductivity in the range of 0.10–0.27 W/m K. The specimen without perlite had a flexural strength in the range of 10.7–14.2 MPa, while that of sample containing perlite was 7.8–12.5 MPa. The cement mortar composite containing 10 wt% expanded perlite and molding at 40 kN showed the highest flexural strength of 12.50±1.36 MPa while the bulk density and water absorption were 1773 kg/m3 and 1.40 %, respectively. The results of this research can be used as a guideline for further development in building materials such as lightweight roof tile, lightweight brick, and ceiling tile.

In this study, the properties of gypsum-based pastes and mortars containing recycled tile powder were investigated at ambient and high temperatures. For this purpose waste tiles were collected from demolition sites and ground. Two different sample groups, namely gypsum pastes and gypsum mortars, were produced. Both groups had their own reference sample that was produced using only gypsum, in addition to samples that were modified by using 10%, 20% and 30% recycled tile powder. The samples were exposed to 600 °C and 800 °C. Unit weights, mass losses, ultrasonic pulse velocities, bending strengths, compressive strength, volume changes and visual investigations were performed on the samples before and after they were exposed to the high temperatures. In addition, the apparent porosity, water absorption and thermal conductivity of the recycled tile powder containing gypsum-based mixtures were investigated. In order to investigate the microstructural changes of the mixtures, scanning electron microscopy examinations and XRD analyses were performed. The findings showed that the strength of the mixtures decreased with the addition of recycled tile powder. The apparent porosity and water absorption of the mixtures were found to increase. However, the presence of recycled tile powder enhanced mass loss, thermal conductivity and high temperature resistance. Furthermore, the volume changes resulting from high temperatures were significantly reduced by using the recycled tile powder.

The mechanical and the physical properties, and the performance of texture roof tiles reinforced with the basalt fibers were observed. The samples of the basalt-fiber reinforced texture roof tiles were produced on the industrial scale by using filter pressing method. After forming, the as-molded samples were air cured and characterized based on ASTM C1185 standard for their mechanical properties and physical properties. In addition, the roof-tile installation test was also performed. The results showed that the samples of the basalt-fiber reinforced texture roof tile (BFRT) could be produced on the industrial scale by using the common setting of the forming machine without further adjustment. For the appearance, the samples of BFRT had the appearance alike the common texture-roof tile products. In addition, BFRTs could be cut and drilled by using the standard cutting machine and could be installed by using the standard procedure for texture roof tile installation. For the properties, BFRTs had the properties as required by the industry requirements including the modulus of rupture (MOR) greater than 5 MPa, the modulus of elasticity (MOE) greater than 7000 MPa, the impact resistance greater than 1000 J/m2, and the density between 1.5−2.2 g/cm3.