Influence of the process variables on the staining of polished porcelain stoneware tile

• Grant number: 08/04805-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2009
• End date: January 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Anselmo Ortega Boschi
• Grantee: Anselmo Ortega Boschi
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Given the importance of porcelain stoneware tile within the productive chain of tiles, this work aims to cover the problem of susceptibility to staining of polished products, which is responsible for undermining one of the characteristics that most adds value to the product: the aesthetic effect. The porosity of closed porcelain stoneware tile is one of the greatest villains in regard to the staining of pieces of polished product, as polishing the surface reveals some of the closed pores present within the piece, facilitating the impregnation of particles of dirt during the use and thereby impeding their removal. On the other hand, and despite the behaviour front of the staining of commercial products of porcelain stoneware, in which the values of closed porosity are very similar, it seems logical that not only this property determines resistance to staining, but also the rest of the characteristics of the burned piece that define its porous microstructure (distribution of pore size, shape and connectivity, etc.). At the present time have not known clearly yet what are the characteristics of the pores really taken as responsible for staining, and, moreover, neither is in literature Systematic studies to assess the real contribution of the stages of processing on the formation and evolution of the porous structure during the production process. The methodology used in this study will result in the establishment of conclusions about the types of pores that should be avoided in the finished product and also about interfering in the processing of the material so that the resistance to staining of cuts increase. For this study will be conducted a sequence of key variables involved in the production of Porcelain Stoneware Tile, responsible for generating the porosity characteristics of the product. (AU)