PRODUCTION OF CERAMIC FACADE TILES

I . D. K u z ' m i n , G. P. Selyuk, UDC 666.642-413

V. I . N i k i t i n , and O. I . N i k i t i n a

The 25th C o n g r e s s of the CPSU placed b e f o r e the e n t e r p r i s e s of the s t r u c t u r a l m a t e r i a l s industry the

t a s k of f u r t h e r developing the production of s t r u c t u r a l m a t e r i a l s and products b a s e d on local raw m a t e r i a l s .
This situation was important for the output of c e r a m i c facade t i l e s which have an important r o l e a m o n g facing
m a t e r i a l s . One of the m o s t important p r o b l e m s is the introduction of new c e r a m i c batches b a s e d on c o m m o n ,
local raw m a t e r i a l s which m a k e it possible to s p e e d up the molding, drying, and firing p r o c e s s e s o f t h e products
and also to lower the firing t e m p e r a t u r e s .
In m a s t e r i n g the production of glazed c e r a m i c facade t i l e s , the B r e s t Structural M a t e r i a l s Combine used
the r e d - f i r e d , l o w - m e l t i n g m a r l y c l a y f r o m the Smetansk deposits as the main f o r m of raw m a t e r i a l . T h e s e
c l a y s a r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a m e c h a n i c a l l y nonuniform c o m p o s i t i o n and contain tiny l i m e inclusions. T h e i r
sand content is 17-18%. The clays a r e plastic with a s h o r t s i n t e r i n g interval. The c h e m i c a l c o m p o s i t i o n can
be e x p r e s s e d in t e r m s of the following concentration of oxides (% by m a s s ) : SiO2, 65-71; A1203, 12.8-16.1;
Fe203, 3.5-6; CaO, 1.4-7; MgO, 2.2-4.2; and l o s s e s on ignition, 6-11.7.
The studies of the c l a y s c a r r i e d out at the Minsk Structural M a t e r i a l s Combine made it p o s s i b l e to
e s t a b l i s h that the following m a s s composition was the m o s t suitable for the m a n u f a c t u r e of p r e s s powder f r o m
t h e s e c l a y s : 60% clay; 30% glass; 10% n e p h e l i n e - s y e n i t e . This was c o n f i r m e d a l s o by the output of e x p e r i -
mental batches of s m a l l (48 • ram) glazed facade t i l e s on an SMK-122 c o n v e y o r - f l o w line.
T h e s e studies m a d e it possible to r e c o m m e n d the organization of production of glazed facade tiles on a
r o l l e r - c o n v e y o r line with a productivity of 100,000 m 2 / y e a r by the d o u b l e - f i r i n g method.
In the organization of the production of t i l e s m e a s u r i n g 150 • 150 • 7 r a m , a f u r t h e r adjustment of the
drying and firing t e m p e r a t u r e and also of s o m e other production p a r a m e t e r s was n e c e s s a r y . In the f i r s t few
months when production w a s being m a s t e r e d , the r e s u l t s of o b s e r v a t i o n s on the c o u r s e of the production p r o c e s s
w e r e used to t r y to c o n s t r u c t a r e g r e s s i o n model in o r d e r to be able to predict the proportion of r e j e c t s and
the w a t e r content of the products at the end of the line as a function of the c o n t r o l l a b l e and uncontrollable p r o -
duction p a r a m e t e r s . H o w e v e r , this attempt did not produce the d e s i r e d r e s u l t s since the model was not a d e -
quate. N e v e r t h e l e s s , the r e s u l t s f r o m c o r r e l a t i o n and r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s e s m a d e it possible to s t a b i l i z e the
t i l e - m o l d i n g p r o c e s s , to s e l e c t the s t a t i s t i c a l l y significant f a c t o r , and the plan for future studies. Thus, the
s t a t i s t i c a l l y significant effect of the t e m p e r a t u r e s of the drying and f i r s t - f i r i n g r e g i m e s on the p r o p o r t i o n of
r e j e c t s and the value of the m o i s t u r e content of the tiles was noted.
The f i r s t t a s k to be solved was how to r e d u c e the p r o p o r t i o n of r e j e c t s in the finished product, r e g a r d -
l e s s of m o i s t u r e content and using an evolutionary planning method [1]. An e x p e r i m e n t was c a r r i e d out in a c -
c o r d a n c e with t h e full t w o - f a c t o r plan with an additional t e s t in the middle of the plan. In all, t h e e x p e r i m e n t
contained five runs during which the t e m p e r a t u r e in the drying and f i r s t - f i r i n g sections was v a r i e d within 30-
40~ of the b a s e - t e m p e r a t u r e level.
After the second cycle of the evolutionary planning method was c o m p l e t e and a s t a t i s t i c a l evaluation had
been m a d e f r o m the r e s u l t s obtained in relation to the proportion of r e j e c t s , it was found that~ for a confidence
l e v e l of 0.95, the effect of t e m p e r a t u r e in the drying and f i r s t - f i r i n g sections differed significantly f r o m z e r o .

TABLE 1
[ Source of IOegreeof l,Sum of .f Mean IF~alculated
criteria [Tabulated F
/ scatter Ifreedom squares square [criteria

LTotal
~e~ression
iRe~'idue
1 'g9
40 _ _ ,
1 '29"
91,8
3s,0
t 2'~6
10.20
0.gs
[ J~r
--
I
9
2Sz
--

B r e s t Structural M a t e r i a l s Combine; B r e s t Engineering and Construction Institute. T r a n s l a t e d f r o m

Sickle i K e r a m i k a , No. 6, pp. 28-29, June, 1979.

0361-7610/79/0506-0343 $07.50 9 Plenum Publishing C o r p o r a t i o n 343

The t e m p e r a t u r e in the f i r s t - f i r i n g section had the g r e a t e s t effect. The effect of a change in the a v e r a g e value
is significantly positive and we can t h e r e f o r e a s s u m e that the s u r f a c e of the r e s p o n s e has a m i n i m u m .
The g r e a t e s t difficulties, f r o m the point of view of e n s u r i n g the output of facade t i l e s to c o r r e s p o n d with
the specifications of the State S~andard 13996-77, w e r e the optimization of the production p a r a m e t e r s in o r d e r
to obtain t i l e s with a m o i s t u r e content _<10%. To solve this p r o b l e m we evaluated the dependence of the value
of the w a t e r absorption of c e r a m i c t i l e s on the following p a r a m e t e r s : xi, the g r a n u l o m e t r i c c o m p o s i t i o n of the
p r e s s powder c h a r a c t e r i z e d by an a v e r a g e v o l u m e - s u r f a c e g r a i n d i a m e t e r , ram; xz, m o i s t u r e content of the
p r e s s powder, %; x3, p r e s s i n g p r e s s u r e , MPa; x4, bend r e s i s t a n c e of the molded t i l e s , iYIPa; xs, r e d u c e d drying
t e m p e r a t u r e ; x6, reduced f i r s t - f i r i n g t e m p e r a t u r e ; xT, reduced s e c o n d - f i r i n g t e m p e r a t u r e of the t i l e s ; xs,
density of the glaze, g/cm3; and xs, sand content of the p r e s s p o w d e r s , %.
A s e r i e s of t e s t s to d e t e r m i n e the w a t e r a b s o r p t i o n of t h e . t i l e s was c o m p l e t e d under industrial condi-
tions in one month. At the c h a n g e o v e r f r o m one t e s t to an other, all the f a c t o r s w e r e v a r i e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y
so that the points would be f u r t h e r a p a r t . The calculation of the m e a n w a t e r a b s o r p t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s was
c a r r i e d out a f t e r doubtful p a r a l l e l o b s e r v a t i o n s had been eliminated using the R o m a n o v c r i t e r i o n . A special
study was used to evaluate the d i s p e r s i o n of the r e p r o d u c i b i l i t y (s ~ { y} = 1.08 with 50 d e g r e e s of f r e e d o m )
c h a r a c t e r i z i n g the e x p e r i m e n t a l e r r o r .
The r e d u c e d drying t e m p e r a t u r e was d e t e r m i n e d a f t e r the completion of the whole s e r i e s of t e s t s . For
each section of the d r i e r we found the lower Tl a n d u p p e r T u value of the t e m p e r a t u r e interval. We then m a d e
the change f r o m the n a t u r a l values of the t e m p e r a t u r e T[ to the coded t e m p e r a t u r e t[ using the ecpation:

Tg~T l
ti
TU_ T l 9

It is c l e a r f r o m the above equation that the coded values of the t e m p e r a t u r e in any i-th run of the s e r i e s
lie between 0 and 1. The value of the reduced d r y i n g t e m p e r a t u r e was d e t e r m i n e d as the a v e r a g e of the coded
values of t e m p e r a t u r e in all t h r e e s e c t i o n s :

x6i-- 3

In the s a m e way we e s t a b l i s h e d the r e d u c e d t e m p e r a t u r e x 0 of the second firing in r e l a t i o n to the 3rd and

4th s e c t i o n s of the kiln; and a l s o the r e d u c e d t e m p e r a t u r e x? of the second firing in relation to sections 6, 7,
and 8 of the kiln. In s e l e c t i n g the section for the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of the r e d u c e d t e m p e r a t u r e it was a s s u m e d that
the w a t e r a b s o r p t i o n of the t i l e s would be affected only by a t e m p e r a t u r e above 800~
F o r the p r e l i m i n a r y a n a l y s i s of the s a m p l e runs we c o n s t r u c t e d the graph of the dependence of the water
a b s o r p t i o n of the t i l e s on all the above l i s t e d f a c t o r s and calculated the c o r r e s p o n d i n g p a i r w i s e c o r r e l a t i o n c o -
efficients. T h e . a n a l y s i s s u g g e s t s that t h e r e is a c l e a r - c u t s t a t i s t i c a l dependence of the w a t e r a b s o r p t i o n on the
p r e s s i n g p r e s s u r e and on the a v e r a g e v o l u m e - s u r f a c e d i a m e t e r of the p r e s s - p o w d e r granules,
A f t e r the p r e l i m i n a r y a n a l y s i s we c o n s t r u c t e d a r e g r e s s i o n equation in o r d e r to predict the value of the
w a t e r a b s o r p t i o n of the tiles. In the c o n s t r u c t i o n of the r e g r e s s i o n model, we used the s t e p - b y - s t e p method of
choosing the r e g r e s s i o n equation followed by an a n a l y s i s of the r e m a i n d e r s at each s t e p [2]. All n e c e s s a r y
calculations w e r e p e r f o r m e d on a N a i r i - 2 - e o m p u t e r . The firal r e g r e s s i o n model including the significant f a c -
t o r s and t h e i r interaction was obtained in the following f o r m :
A
y ~ -- 50.85 -~-142.2 xl-- 0.31 xs "~-83.5 x6-~ 106.1 x6-~-39.9 x7 -- 383.3 xl xe -- 65.0 x5x~ -- 53.1 x~s-- 18.2 x~6.
The m o d e l c o r r e s p o n d s to the following t a b l e of the d i s p e r s i o n analysis (Table 1).
E is c l e a r f r o m T a b l e 1 that the c o n s t r u c t e d model can be used to predict the value of the w a t e r a b s o r p -
tion of the t i l e s since the value of the c a l c u l a t e d F c r i t e r i o n c o r r e s p o n d i n g to it is five t i m e s g r e a t e r than the
t a b u l a r F c r i t e r i o n which w a s found at the level of the dependence ~ = 0.05 and with the n u m b e r of d e g r e e s of
f r e e d o m f l = 9 and f~=40 while the m e a n s q u a r e r e s i d u e of 0.95 is not g r e a t e r than the d i s p e r s i o n of the r e -

:: .... :': :
.. ..-..-:.... 9....... .. 9 : :
-2 -1 g 1 2
Fig. 1

344
producibUity S2~y} =1.08. M o r e o v e r , the additivity of the model is also shown by the fact t h a t t h e n u m b e r of
A
d i f f e r e n c e s (residues} e ~ = y ~ - - ~ , e x p r e s s e d in the f o r m of n o r m a l deviations ei/~/0.95 and g o i n g b e y o n d t h e l i m i t s
of - 2 to +2 is _<5%. It is c l e a r f r o m Fig. 1 that only one of the fifty values of the s t a n d a r d deviations is out-
side the l i m i t s of - 2 and +2. The proportion of the total s p r e a d r e l a t i v e to the m e a n is i n t e r p r e t e d by the r e -
g r e s s i o n equation and is 71%.
The s t a t i s t i c a l a n a l y s i s showed that only the p r e s s i n g p r e s s u r e unequivocally influences the value of the
w a t e r a b s o r p t i o n of the t i l e s and with an i n c r e a s e in p r e s s u r e , other things being equal, the value d e c r e a s e s .
This is not so in r e l a t i o n to all the o t h e r f a c t o r s in the study since the effect of a single f a c t o r depends on the
level of the o t h e r f a c t o r s .
the b a s i s of the idea about the f o r m of the s u r f a c e of r e s p o n s e in the e x p e r i m e n t a l region the s p e c i f i -
cations for the p r e s s powder and the t i l e - p r e s s i n g p a r a m e t e r s w e r e established and the following t e m p e r a t u r e
r e g i m e s for the drying and p r i m a r y firing of the t i l e s (~ w e r e s e l e c t e d : f i r s t section of di:ier, 250; second
section, 280; t h i r d s e c t i o n , 320; f i r s t section of p r i m a r y firing kiln, 380; second section, 730; t h i r d section,
900; and fourth section, 920.
The use of the r e s u l t s of the study under production conditions, m a d e it possible for the B r e s t S t r u c t ~ a l
M a t e r i a l s Combine to adjust the output of c e r a m i c facade t i l e s m a d e f r o m c o m m o n and plentiful local raw
m a t e r i a l s in a c c o r d a n e d with State Standard GOST 13996-77. M e a s u r e s to e n s u r e a stable level of good quality
products w e r e consolidated by the introduction of E n t e r p r i s e Standards into the p r o c e s s .

LITERATURE CITED
1. K. H a r t m a n et al., Planning of E x p e r i m e n t s to Discover the Optimum Conditions [translated f r o m G e r -
man], Nauka, Moscow (1977).
2. N. D r a p e r and H. Smith, Applied R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s , Wiley (1966).

345