Ceramic Materials With Adjustable Thermal Insulation Properties

Today, modern materials are subject to requirements for improvement of their physicochemical and physical-mechanical properties. This becomes especially relevant nowadays, as the annual increase in the production of ceramic materials leads to an increase in the extraction of clay raw materials with the depletion of high quality reserves. One of the solutions of the problem can be the creation of new technologies with the use of modern equipment. However, it is more rational to improve the existing processes by adjusting the technological parameters at the main stages of production. In the presented work the main deposits where clay raw materials are extracted in the Republic of Tatarstan are indicated, the state of production of building ceramics in the republic is analyzed and it is noted that the products are characterized by low thermal insulation characteristics. In the experimental part of the work at firing temperature 9500C ceramic products based on clay of Klyuchishchenskoe deposit modified by opal-cristobalite rocks are synthesized. The results of experiments on the study of their physical and mechanical properties are presented, the optimal component compositions of ceramic materials with the maximum value of the coefficient of thermal conductivity are selected. Methods of atomic emission spectrometry, titrimetry, X-ray and thermogravimetric analyses were used to study their chemical and mineralogical compositions of initial raw materials. On the basis of the conducted research it is shown that the determining factors affecting the thermal insulation properties of ceramic materials are the composition and structure of the modifier and the product. It is established that at the firing mode: T=9500C with exposure time of 3 hours, the optimal ratio of initial components for all conducted studies of modifiers (diatomite, trepel, opoka) taking into account the physical and mechanical properties of the obtained products is Clay:Modifier=75:25.