Tiles, Electrical

PRESSING porcelain Flatwares,

Tablewares

Electrical Porcelain,
Slip density PLASTIC Tablewares,
Earthenwares
(kgm3 x
103) CASTING Sanitarywares,
Tablewares,
Glove formers

MIXING

0 25 50 100
150 Increasing moisture content (%)
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORMING METHODS AND MOSITURE CONTENT
4 Important Range
 2 ranges with higher moisture content:
 Casting and Mixing
- Refer to region in fluid form (involving deflocculant
to maximise solid content in water)
 2 ranges with lower water content:
 Dry pressing and Plastic forming
Relationship between porosity and
moisture content

Volume

Moisture
35

Pores
65

Solid Dry Powder Plastic Slip

Body (Press) Body (Casting)
The role of water with reference to forming
methods (rujuk carta bar):
 Powder pressing – water as binding of powders
 Plastic Body – water fills pores and provide slip
between particles (pelinciran) and improve
plasticity
 Slip casting – water improves flowability of slurry

Typically :
Jasad selepas pengeringan mengandungi
30 – 40% liang
 Controlling moisture level in bodies of whitewares ?
Raw materials

Kering Basah

Tambah Air Aduk dan campur

Campuran Jasad
Tambah air dan
penyahkelompok Kering sembur
Kering leger
Tekan Perah

Kek Plastik
Terus
Kering

Adun Kisar

TUANGAN SLIP JASAD PLASTIK PENEKANAN SERBUK

30 20 6 – 10 % air
Flowchart of body forming
 Water in slip casting (30 –35 %)

Requires 2 important criterion :

1. Slip (slurry) with high solid content and
controlled amount of water (high solid to
water ratio) with suitable level of viscosity

- to enable flowability, transportation, casting etc

- however, the viscosity level (fluidity) is prepared
without sacrificing high solid content (about 70%
SOLIDS)
(2) Produced cast (tuangan) with good
properties such as good density, solid
and with good green strength and not
easily crack

To produce quality product – Control

rheology

Whats rheology?
Hence 3 parameters that need to be controlled :

 (i)    slip density :
(mass/volume)

(ii)    viscosity :
relative internal resistance in relation to
movement at other positions

(iii) thixotropy :
the ability of slip to be more viscous when
remain undisturbed
 Generally : rheology is controlled by the
charactersitics of the clay used

 Theoretically, the influence of clay on rheology is

difficult

The addition of electrolyte (known as deflocculant

or dispersant) will reduce the viscosity to a
minimum point before increasing the viscosity again
Relative
Viscosity

Amount of deflocculant

The graph of relative viscosity against amount of

deflocculant
Common deflocculant used
 Na Silicate
 Na Hexametaphosphate (or Calgon)
 Na carbonate
 Dispex
 CMC
Deflocculant enables the slip to be prepared with
high solid content in a small amount of water
without compromising the viscosity

% solid
content

% deflocculant

Graph of % solid content against % deflocculant

 Therefore, the density and viscosity of slip
would produced different state of the cast
product

Flocculated slip and deflocculated slip

produced different state of the casts.
 
 Deflocculated slip :
cast body will be denser and solid and upon
firing, the physical and mechanical
properties will be better (the arrangement of
the particles in body will be effective)
 However, the yield point and thixotropy are
two other important parameters
A B C D E

Strain
rate

Increasing slip
density

Tegasan Ricih
Yield stress
A – Pure viscous fluid (in accordance to Newton’s
Law) example : thick syrup

B - Bone China: special characteristics due to

presence of phosphate
C – behaviour of casting slip typically with no
yield point, and gradient of curve increases when
strain rate increases (i.e. viscosity decreased).
This is known as thixotropy ( assist in thickening
of cast products)

B & C – deflocculated ceramic slips.

 A B C D E

Strain
rate

Increasing slip
density

Tegasan Ricih
Yield stress
D & E – slip without deflocculant.
High viscosity. Shows yield stress, that is - it
requires a small force before flowing (close
to plastic making body)
Therefore, 3 slip properties need to be
measured : 
 Slip density
 Fluidity (kebendaliran) or viscosity
 thixotropy
How to measure????
 Use of viscometer:-
 Manual (old method):

Torsional viscometer (Viskometer kilasan)

 Digital (new):

Brookfield Viscometer
There is no specific values to indicate that the
slip is suitable (pending on products)

Generally (using torsional visc.):

Slip density 1.8 oz/pint
Viscosity 260 – 300 over - swing
Thixotropy 10 – 60 over-swing/minute
General characteristics, the relationship between
fluidity and thixotropy against % deflocculant

Fluidity and
thixotropy

Fluidity (propportional 1/viscosity) % deflocculant

Tiksotropi

Increasing slip density

How??
(i) Maintained high solid content
(ii) Moderate thixotropy so as to have a
strong body
The characteristics can be controlled by

   water
 raw materials More important
 deflocculant ..why??