Differences in the production-related properties of the three primary clay minerals kaolinite-illite-montmorillonite (Part 2)

On account of their different crystal structures, the primary clay minerals kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite exhibit different material properties and behaviour in production processes. Owing to the different formation and rearrangement of the strata, often two or three varieties of the respective primary clay minerals are encountered, which differ in their particle size and chemical composition. The results of statistical analyses on a large number of brick raw materials and bodies are presented in two parts, which reveal the differences in the shaping, drying and firing behaviour of the clay mineral varieties and document these numerically.

4 Shaping properties

To this day, there is no uniform laboratory process for measuring plasticity as this is used as a collective term for many complex properties such as viscosity, yield or deformation resistance, swelling and binding capacity and mixing water requirement. In all processes, the prominent characteristic is, however, the water content necessary until a certain plastic property is achieved.

In German-speaking countries, in the ceramic laboratory, the mixing water requirement is often determined according to Pfefferkorn, at a deformation ratio of 2. The mixing water requirement is...

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