S. Maity et al., STRENGTH OF SILLIMANITE SAND REINFORCED PORCELAIN SUBJECTED TO THERMAL-SHOCK, Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 17(5), 1997, pp. 749-752
An attempt has been made to eliminate quartz and gradually replace fel
spar by sillimanite sand to improve the thermomechanical properties of
porcelains. It has been observed that the quenching temperature diffe
rence (Delta T) required to initiate thermal stress fracture in the po
rcelain increased greatly, when compared to classical compositions, wi
th gradual replacement of felspar by sillimanite sand. Similar behavio
ur has also been observed in linear thermal expansion measurements. It
was concluded that improvement in thermal shock resistance of the mat
erial was due to the absence of quartz and the presence of sillimanite
-a volume-stable mineral-in addition to the decreased amount of glassy
phase. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Limited.