Microstructural approach to frost resistance of ceramic roofing tiles

Abstract

Frost resistance of ceramic products is an important factor in the procedure of ceramic roofing tiles durability prediction. This property depends on many factors: raw material characteristics, processing parameters and environmental conditions (temperature fluctuation and moisture content). This paper is focused on the influence of vacuum value of the extruder and the speed of extruded column on the properties of the final products ( plain biber tiles). By alternating the operating parameters of vacuum extruder, the characteristics of the ceramic roofing tiles have been changed and a stable ceramic structure (3rd series, low water permeability, dominant pore diameter range: 0.5-1.0μm) is formed. The frost resistance criterion presented in this work, links the critical pore diameter for water / ice transition, dilatation freezing values and the values of diametrical compression.