Introduction

Ceramics are classified as inorganic and nonmetallic materials that are essential to our daily lifestyle. Ceramic and materials engineers are the people who design the processes in which these products can be made, create new types of ceramic products, and find different uses for ceramic products in everyday life.

Ceramics are all around us. This category of materials includes things like tile, bricks, plates, glass, and toilets. Ceramics can be found in products like watches (quartz tuning forks-the time keeping devices in watches), snow skies (piezoelectricceramics that stress when a voltage is applied to them), automobiles (sparkplugs and ceramic engine parts found in racecars), and phone lines. They can also be found on space shuttles, appliances (enamel coatings), and airplanes (nose cones). Depending on their method of formation, ceramics can be dense or lightweight. Typically, they will demonstrate excellent strength and hardness properties; however, they are often brittle in nature. Ceramics can also be formed to serve as electrically conductive materials, objects allowing electricity to pass through their mass, or insulators, materials preventing the flow of electricity. Some ceramics, like superconductors, also display magnetic properties.
Ceramics are generally made by taking mixtures of clay, earthen elements, powders, and water and shaping them into desired forms. Once the ceramic has been shaped, it is fired in a high temperature oven known as a kiln. Often, ceramics are covered in decorative, waterproof, paint-like substances known as glazes.

The properties of ceramic materials, like all materials, are dictated by the types of atoms present, the types of bonding between the atoms, and the way the atoms are packed together. This is known as the atomic scale structure. Most ceramics are made up of two or more elements. This is called a compound. For example, alumina (Al2O3), is a compound made up of aluminum atoms and oxygen atoms. The atoms in ceramic materials are held together by a chemical bond. The two most common chemical bonds for ceramic materials are covalent and ionic. For metals, the chemical bond is called the metallic bond. The bonding of atoms together is much

stronger in covalent and ionic bonding than in metallic. That is why, generally speaking, metals are ductile and ceramics are brittle. Due to ceramic materials wide range of properties, they are used for a multitude of applications. In general, most ceramics are:

hard, wear-resistant, brittle, refractory, thermal insulators, electrical insulators, nonmagnetic, oxidation resistant, prone to thermal shock, and chemically stable.

Archeologists have uncovered human-made ceramics that date back to at least 24,000 BC. These ceramics were found in Czechoslovakia and were in the form of animal and human figurines, slabs, and balls. These ceramics were made of animal fat and bone mixed with bone ash and a fine claylike material. After forming, the ceramics were fired at temperatures between 500-800C in domed and horseshoe shaped kilns partially dug into the ground with loess walls. While it is not clear what these ceramics were used for, it is not thought to have been a utilitarian one. The first use of functional pottery vessels is thought to be in 9,000 BC. These vessels were most likely used to hold and store grain and other foods. It is thought that ancient glass manufacture is closely related to pottery making, which flourished in Upper Egypt about 8,000 BC. While firing pottery, the presence of calcium oxide (CaO) containing sand combined with soda and the overheating of the pottery kiln may have resulted in a colored glaze on the ceramic pot. Experts believe that it was not until 1,500 BC that glass was produced independently of ceramics and fashioned into separate items. Since these ancient times, the technology and applications of ceramics (including

glass) has steadily increased. We often take for granted the major role that ceramics have played in the progress of humankind.

Data Analysis The Manufacturing Process

Once the raw materials are processed, a number of steps take place to obtain the finished product. These steps include batching, mixing and grinding, spray-drying, forming, drying, glazing, and firing. Many of these steps are now accomplished using automated equipment.

Batching
1 For many ceramic products, including tile, the body composition is determined by the amount and type of raw materials. The raw materials also determine the color of the tile body, which can be red or white in color, depending on the amount of iron-containing raw materials used. Therefore, it is important to mix the right amounts together to achieve the desired properties. Batch calculations are thus required, which must take into consideration both physical properties and chemical compositions of the raw materials. Once the appropriate weight of each raw material is determined, the raw materials must be mixed together.

Mixing and grinding

2 Once the ingredients are weighed, they are added together into a shell mixer, ribbon mixer, or intensive mixer. A shell mixer consists of two cylinders joined into a V, which rotates to tumble and mix the material. A ribbon mixer uses helical vanes, and an intensive mixer uses rapidly revolving plows. This step further grinds the ingredients, resulting in a finer particle size that improves the subsequent forming process (see step #4 below). Sometimes it is necessary to add water to improve the mixing of a multiple-ingredient batch as well as to achieve fine grinding. This process is called wet milling and is often performed using a ball mill. The resulting water-filled mixture is called a slurry or slip. The water is then removed from the slurry by filter pressing (which removes 40-50 percent of the moisture), followed by dry milling.

Spray drying
3 If wet milling is first used, the excess water is usually removed via spray drying. This involves pumping the slurry to an atomizer consisting of a rapidly rotating disk or nozzle. Droplets of the slip are dried as they are heated by a rising hot air column, forming small, free flowing granules that result in a powder suitable for forming. Tile bodies can also be prepared by dry grinding followed by granulation. Granulation uses a machine in which the mixture of previously dry-ground material is mixed with water in order to form the particles into granules, which again form a powder ready for forming.

Forming
4 Most tile is formed by dry pressing. In this method, the free flowing powdercontaining organic binder or a low percentage of moistureflows from a hopper into the forming die. The material is compressed in a steel cavity by steel plungers and is then ejected by the bottom plunger. Automated presses are used with operating pressures as high as 2,500 tons. Several other methods are also used where the tile body is in a wetter, more moldable form. Extrusion plus punching is used to produce irregularly shaped tile and thinner tile faster and more economically. This involves compacting a plastic mass in a high-pressure cylinder and forcing the material to flow out of

the cylinder into short slugs. These slugs are then punched into one or more tiles using hydraulic or pneumatic punching presses. Ram pressing is often used for heavily profiled tiles. With this method, extruded slugs of the tile body are pressed between two halves of a hard or porous mold mounted in a hydraulic press. The formed part is removed by first applying vacuum to the top half of the mold to free the part from the bottom half, followed by forcing air through the top half to free the top part. Excess material must be removed from the part and additional finishing may be needed. Another process, called pressure glazing, has recently been developed. This process combines glazing and shaping simultaneously by pressing the glaze (in spray-dried powder form) directly in the die filled with the tile body powder. Advantages include the elimination of glazing lines, as well as the glazing waste material (called sludge) that is produced with the conventional method.

Drying
5 Ceramic tile usually must be dried (at high relative humidity) after forming, especially if a wet method is used. Drying, which can take several days, removes the water at a slow enough rate to prevent shrinkage cracks. Continuous or tunnel driers are used that are heated using gas or oil, infrared lamps, or microwave energy. Infrared drying is better suited for thin tile, whereas microwave drying works better for thicker tile. Another method, impulse drying, uses pulses of hot air flowing in the transverse direction instead of continuously in the material flow direction.

Glazing
6 To prepare the glaze, similar methods are used as for the tile body. After a batch formulation is calculated, the raw materials are weighed, mixed and dry or wet milled. The milled glazes are then applied using one of the many methods available. In centrifugal glazing or discing, the glaze is fed through a rotating disc that flings or throws the glaze onto the tile. In the bell/waterfall method, a stream of glaze falls onto the tile as it passes on a conveyor underneath. Sometimes, the glaze is simply sprayed on. For multiple glaze applications, screen printing on, under, or between tile that have been wet glazed is used. In this process, glaze is forced through a screen by a rubber squeegee or other device. Dry glazing is also being used. This involves the application of powders, crushedfrits (glass materials), and granulated glazes onto a wet-glazed tile surface. After firing, the glaze particles melt into each other to produce a surface like granite.

Firing
7 After glazing, the tile must be heated intensely to strengthen it and give it the desired porosity. Two types of ovens, or kilns, are used for firing tile. Wall tile, or tile that is prepared by dry grinding instead of wet milling (see #2 and #3 above), usually requires a two-step process. In this process, the tile goes through a low-temperature firing called bisque firing before glazing. This step removes the volatiles from the material and most or all of the shrinkage. The body and glaze are then fired together in a process called glost firing. Both firing processes take place in a tunnel or continuous kiln, which consists of a chamber through which the ware is slowly moved on a conveyor on refractory battsshelves built of materials that are resistant to high temperaturesor in containers called saggers. Firing in a tunnel kiln can take two to three days, with firing temperatures around 2,372 degrees Fahrenheit (1,300 degrees Celsius). For tile that only requires a single firingusually tile that is prepared by wet millingroller kilns are generally used. These kilns move the wares on a roller conveyor and do not require kiln furnitures such as batts or saggers. Firing times in roller kilns can be as low as 60 minutes, with firing temperatures around 2,102 degrees Fahrenheit (1,150 degrees Celsius) or more. 8 After firing and testing, the tile is ready to be packaged and shipped.

Byproducts

A variety of pollutants are generated during the various manufacturing steps; these emissions must be controlled to meet air control standards. Among the pollutants produced in tile manufacture are fluorine and lead compounds, which are produced during firing and glazing. Lead compounds have been significantly reduced with the recent development of no-lead or low-lead glazes. Fluorine emissions can be controlled with scrubbers, devices that basically spray the gases with water to remove harmful pollutants. They can also be controlled with dry processes, such as fabric filters coated with lime. This lime can then be recycled as a raw material for future tile. The tile industry is also developing processes to recycle wastewater and sludge produced during milling, glazing, and spray-drying. Already some plants recycle the excess powder generated during dry-pressing as well as the overspray produced during glazing. Waste glaze and rejected tile are also returned to the body preparation process for reuse.

Quality Control
Most tile manufacturers now use statistical process control (SPC) for each step of the manufacturing process. Many also work closely with their raw material suppliers to ensure that specifications are met before the material is used. Statistical process control consists of charts that are used to monitor various processing parameters, such as particle size, milling time, drying temperature and time, compaction pressure, dimensions after pressing, density, firing temperature and time, and the like. These charts identify problems with equipment, out of spec conditions, and help to improve yields before the final product is finished. The final product must meet certain specifications regarding physical and chemical properties. These properties are determined by standard tests established by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). Properties measured include mechanical strength, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, water absorption, dimensional stability, frost resistance, and linear coefficient of thermal expansion. More recently, the slip resistance, which can be determined by measuring the coefficient of friction, has become a concern. However, no standard has yet been established because other factors (such as proper floor design and care) can make results meaningless.

The Future
In order to maintain market growth, tile manufacturers will concentrate on developing and promoting new tile products, including modular or cladding tile, larger-sized tile, slip- and abrasion-resistant tile, and tile with a polished, granite or marble finish. This is being accomplished through the development of different body formulations, new glazes, and glaze applications, and by new and improved processing equipment and techniques. Automation will continue to play an important role in an effort to increase production, lower costs, and improve quality. In addition, changes in production technology due to environmental and energy resource issues will continue.

Review of literature Books and web pages

Bender, W. and F. Handle, eds. Brick and Tile Making: Procedures and Operating Practices in the Heavy Clay Industries. Bauverlag GmbH, 1982. Jones, J. T. and M. F. Berard. Ceramics: Industrial Processing and Testing.Iowa State University Press, 1972. Pellacani, G. and T. Manfredini. Engineered Materials Handbook. ASM International, 1991, pp. 925-929. Burzacchini, B. "Technical Developments in Ceramic Tile Glazes and Related Applications," American Ceramic Society Bulletin. March, 1991, pp. 394-403.

Fugmann, K. "Rapid Changes in Tile Technology," Tile & Brick International.March, 1991, pp. 165-166. Gehringer, George. "Tile Glossary: A Guide to Techniques and Surface Designs," American Ceramic Society Bulletin. December, 1990, pp. 1950-1952. Geiger, Greg. "Developments in the Tile Industry," American Ceramic Society Bulletin. December, 1991, pp. 1879-1885. L. S. Millberg