CARACTERIZAÇÃO DE MASSAS DE PORCELANAS COMERCIAIS PARA APLICAÇÕES ARTESANAIS

Abstract

The growth of the artisanal ceramics market is not easy to measure. However, according to those who have been involved in the activity for a few years, its “boom” is recent and can be noticed by the increasing presence of artisanal ceramic brands in design objects stores, handmade product fairs and also in social networks. Only in the e-commerce decoration market, which ceramic pieces are a part, there was a 300% increase in virtual purchases between 2019 and 2021. Additionally, only in January 2023, there was a 9% increase compared to the same period the previous year. With a heated sector, the art of modeling ceramic materials has become much more than a hobby for some people, developing into a source of income. In this work, three compositions of porcelain masses were investigated, two of which were acquired from the market in the form of slip and paste, respectively, and the third composition was developed with a reference sample formulation for comparison purposes. To better understand the characteristics of the samples, the following analyzes were carried out: X-ray diffraction to determine phases present and particle size distribution. The commercial samples were dried in an oven with air circulation (105°C) for a period of 24 hours, then de-agglomerated in a mortar, sieved through a Tyler 80 mesh and 6% water was added to aid in compaction. The samples were uniaxially compacted in a hydraulic press with a compaction pressure of 80 MPa. After compaction, the samples were sintered at the following temperatures: 1050⁰C, 1150⁰C, 1200⁰C, 1250⁰C, in an electric oven, with a plateau of 2 hours. After sintering, the specimens were characterized by measurements: apparent density, apparent porosity, water absorption, modulus of rupture at three-point bending, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. From the results found, the imported sample presents a higher sintering temperature and mechanical resistance, followed by the reference sample and finally the national sample.