Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

The National Engineering University
Alangilan Campus
Golden Country Homes, Alangilan, Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines 4200
Tel Nos.: (+63 43) 425-0139 loc. 2121 / 2221
E-mail Address: ceafa@g.batstate-u.edu.ph | Website Address: http://www.batstate-u.edu.ph

College of Engineering

Handout about Ceramics

MEMBERS:

Alumbro, Elma Joy

Matias, Norielyn
Mortel, Kristine Mae
Pelo, Hannah Brynelle
Simon, Christian

Submitted to:

ENGR. RALPH A. CASTINO

Instructor

Leading Innovations, Transforming Lives

 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Alangilan Campus
Golden Country Homes, Alangilan, Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines 4200
Tel Nos.: (+63 43) 425-0139 loc. 2121 / 2221
E-mail Address: ceafa@g.batstate-u.edu.ph | Website Address: http://www.batstate-u.edu.ph

College of Engineering

Intended Learning Outcomes

After studying this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

1. Define ceramics and know its history
2. Describe the structures and properties of ceramics.
3. Explain processes needed to change the structures and properties of ceramics
necessary for a certain application.
4. Identify the different applications of ceramics in engineering.

HISTORY OF CERAMICS

Ceramics is one of the most ancient industries going back thousands of years. Once humans
discovered that clay could be found in abundance and formed into objects by first mixing with
water and then firing, a ceramic industry was born. The oldest known ceramic artifact is dated
as early as 28,000 BCE (BCE = Before Common Era), during the late Paleolithic period.
● The Venus of Dolní Věstonice is a Venus figurine, a ceramic statuette of a nude female
figure dated to 29,000–25,000 BCE. It was found at the Paleolithic site Dolní Věstonice
in the Moravian basin south of Brno, in the base of Děvín Mountain in what is today the
Czech Republic

'Ceramic' comes from the Greek word meaning ‘pottery’. The clay-based domestic wares, art
objects, and building products are familiar, but pottery is just one part of the ceramic world.
Nowadays the term ‘ceramic’ has a more expansive meaning and includes materials like glass,
advanced ceramics, and some cement systems. A ceramic is an inorganic non-metallic solid
made up of either metal or non-metal compounds that have been shaped and then hardened by
heating to high temperatures. In general, they are hard, corrosion-resistant, and brittle.

Leading Innovations, Transforming Lives

 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Alangilan Campus
Golden Country Homes, Alangilan, Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines 4200
Tel Nos.: (+63 43) 425-0139 loc. 2121 / 2221
E-mail Address: ceafa@g.batstate-u.edu.ph | Website Address: http://www.batstate-u.edu.ph

College of Engineering

The first examples of pottery appeared in Eastern Asia several thousand years later. In the
Xianrendong cave in China, fragments of pots dated to 18,000-17,000 BCE have been found. It
is believed that from China the use of pottery successively spread to Japan and the Russian Far
East region where archeologists have found shards of ceramic artifacts dating to 14,000 BCE.

The use of ceramics increased dramatically during the Neolithic period, with the establishment
of settled communities dedicated to agriculture and farming. Starting approximately in 9,000
BCE, clay-based ceramics became popular as containers for water and food, art objects, tiles,
and bricks, and their use spread from Asia to the Middle East and Europe.
● By the Neolithic Age, clay modelling in the form of pottery had taken on a life of its own.
This pottery was used for religious rituals, for cooking, and for the bearing of water
and foodstuffs. Pottery could also be used when eating, as in the creation of bowls.

One of the first breakthroughs in the fabrication of ceramics was the invention of the wheel, in
3,500 BCE. The introduction of the wheel allowed for the utilization of the wheel-forming
technique to produce ceramic artifacts with radial symmetry.
● The oldest forms of the potter's wheel (called tourneys or slow wheels) were probably
developed as an extension of this procedure. Tournettes, in use around 4500 BC in the
Near East, were turned slowly by hand or by foot while coiling a pot.

Meanwhile, ceramic pottery evolved in its use of increasingly elaborated paintings, so that these
objects eventually became genuine pieces of art. Decorations also involved the use of oxidizing
and reducing the atmosphere during firing to achieve special effects.

Throughout the 16th century CE (CE = Common Era), earthenware remained the main class
of ceramic products manufactured in Europe and the Middle East. The Chinese were the first to

Leading Innovations, Transforming Lives

 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Alangilan Campus
Golden Country Homes, Alangilan, Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines 4200
Tel Nos.: (+63 43) 425-0139 loc. 2121 / 2221
E-mail Address: ceafa@g.batstate-u.edu.ph | Website Address: http://www.batstate-u.edu.ph

College of Engineering

introduce high-temperature kilns capable of reaching up to 1350°C, and, around 600 CE,
developed porcelain (a material with less than 1% porosity) from kaolin clay.
● Earthenware is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects. It is one of
the oldest materials used in pottery. The clay is fired at relatively low temperatures
(1,000– 1,150°C), producing a slightly porous, coarse product. To overcome its porosity,
the fired object is covered with finely ground glass powder suspended in water (glaze)
and is then fired a second time. Faience, Delft and majolica are examples of
earthenware

By the 15th century, the earliest blast furnaces were developed in Europe, capable of reaching
up to 1,500°C. They were used to melt iron and were initially constructed from natural materials.
When synthetic materials with better resistance to high temperatures (called refractories) were
developed in the 16th century, the industrial revolution was born. These refractories created the
necessary conditions for melting metals and glass on an industrial scale, as well as for the
manufacture of coke, cement, chemicals, and ceramics.

Since then, the ceramic industry has gone through a profound transformation. Not only have
traditional ceramics and glass become ubiquitous, but over the years new products have been
developed to take advantage of the unique properties of these materials, such as their low
thermal and electrical conductivity, high chemical resistance, and high melting point. After
World War II, ceramics and glass have contributed to the growth of many technologically
advanced fields, including electronics, optoelectronics, medical, energy, automotive, aerospace,
and space exploration. In addition, innovations in ceramic processing and characterization
techniques have enabled the creation of materials with tailored properties that meet the
requirements of specific and customized applications.

Leading Innovations, Transforming Lives

 Republic of the Philippines
BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
The National Engineering University
Alangilan Campus
Golden Country Homes, Alangilan, Batangas City, Batangas, Philippines 4200
Tel Nos.: (+63 43) 425-0139 loc. 2121 / 2221
E-mail Address: ceafa@g.batstate-u.edu.ph | Website Address: http://www.batstate-u.edu.ph

College of Engineering

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

Leading Innovations, Transforming Lives