Articles
  • Determination of the activation energy for densification of porcelain stoneware
  • Simón Yobanny Reyes Lópeza,*, Juan Serrato Rodríguezb and Satoshi Sugita Sueyoshic
  • a Departamento de Ingeniería Química, División de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Campus León, Universidad de Guanajuato. Loma del Bosque 103, Fracc. Lomas del Campestre León, Gto., México. C.P. 37150 México b Instituto de Investigaciones Metalúrgicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Santiago Tapia 403, Morelia, Mich., México. C.P. 58000 México c Departamento de Química, División de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Campus Guanajuato, Universidad de Guanajuato, Noria Alta s/n, Col. Noria Alta, Guanajuato, Gto., México. C.P. 36510 México
Abstract
Experimental porcelain stoneware has been formed by slip casting and sintered by rate controlled dilatometry. Shrinkage has been measured at various constant heating rates up to 1300 oC by dilatometry. A kinetic field for stoneware firing has been set up by connecting points of equal density on the sintering rate curves to determine the activation energy for densification and to calculate optimum firing cycles. The activation energy for densification has been calculated from the slope of the isodensity curves. It has been observed that the activation energy increases with progressive sintering i.e. 470-497 kJ/mol for the intermediate sintering stage (1100-1225 oC) accounting for most of the densification. The abrupt shrinkage and low activation energy values during the intermediate sintering stage suggest a viscous flow mechanism of densification. The final sintering stage responsible for a reduced densification rate showed a lower 313 kJ/mol activation energy.

Keywords: Activation energy, Densification process, Dilatometric behavior, Constant heating rates.

This Article

  • 2011; 12(3): 228-232

    Published on Jun 30, 2011

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