United States 2,230,206
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Patented Jan. 28, 1941 2,230,206 UNITED STATES FlCE 2,230,206 MANUFACTURE OF CERAIVHC‘ WARES Ira Elmer Sproat, Westport, Conn, assignor to R. T. Vanderbilt Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York No Drawing. Application April 14, 1938, Serial No. 202,010 10 Claims. (Cl. 106-41) _ This invention relates to the manufacture of The mineral content of several thin sections of improved ceramics. It relates more particularly this rock as determined by traversing selected to ceramic products having decreased moisture areas under the microscope is approximately as expansion and tendency to craze, together With follows: Cl 5 improved ?ring characteristics, color, and in Per cent creased economy of manufacture. Albite _________________________ __ _____ __ 60-70 Earthenware ‘bodies are comm-only made from Microcl-ine ___________________________ __ 5 a mixture of clay, ?int and feldspar, and may in Sericite ______________________________ __ 10-20 clude pyrophyllite, talc; etc. The proportions of Zoisite _______________________________ __ l5—20 10 10 clay, ?int and feldspar used in making earthen Quartz and minor minerals 5% or less. ware bodies vary considerably depending upon While this analysis is largely an approximation it the characteristics which are desired in the ?nal ceramic products. indicates in a general way the relative distribu Most ceramic products prepared from clay, tion of minerals in the rock. A recast of the chemical analysis indicates a substantially simi 15 ?int and feldspar expand upon absorbing mois ture. This expansion causes crazing of the glaze lar distribution of minerals. Based on the chemi cal analysis of the rock the percentage composi on many products such as wall tile, etc. The tion would be very closely: present invention provides improved ceramic Per cent products having a greatly decreased moisture Zoisite: éCaOBAhOaGSiOaI-lzO __________ __ 22.0 20 20 expansion, and a corresponding decreased tend ency to craze. These new products have other Albite: 1\Ta,2O.A12O3.6SiO2 ________________ __ 55.0 important advantages, such as improved ?ring Sericite: K2O.3A.l2O3.6SiO2.2HzO _________ __ 13.0 characteristics, economy of manufacture, etc. Microcline: K2O.AlzO3.6E5iOz _____________ __ 5.0 In accordance with the _ present invention, Quartz: SiO2____' _______________________ __ 3.0 Titanite: CaO.TiO2.SiO2 ________________ __ NJ Ol ceramic products are prepared from bodies con taining zoisitic rock, which advantageously re Garnet: 3CaO.AlzO3.3SiO2 ______________ __ 2D places a substantial part of or all of the feldspar Clino-zoisite: 4CaO.3Al2O3.6SiOz.H2O ____ __ commonly used, and may even replace some of Apatite: (02.5‘) (321.4 (P04) 3 ______________ __ the ?int commonly used. The term “zoisitic rock” Since the rock occurs naturally in Virginia, I as used in this speci?cation and claims is used to have chosen to designate it as Virginia zoisitic designate materials containing a substantial pro rock, and it will be referred to in this speci?cation portion of zoisite, together with substantial pro and the appended claims by this name. Instead portions of sodium and potassium aluminum sili of this Virginia zoisitic rock, other suitable rock cates, such as albite and sericite. containing substantial quantities of zoisite to The amount of zoisitic rock used in producing gether with alkali aluminum silicates such as al the new ceramicsmay be varied; but advanta bite, sericite and microcline can be similarly geously the proportion used should be such as to used. provide from 0.3% to 5% of calcium, calculated This Virginia zoisitic rock has important ad as calcium oxide. When the zoisitic rock is used vantages as a ceramic flux and may be substituted 40 40 in these proportions in the bodies, the ceramics for all the feldspar and a small part of the ?int obtained have a radically decreased moisture in such typical white ware bodies as floor and expansion without any marked decrease in ?r wall tile, electrical porcelain, semi-porcelain din ing range. nerware, vitreous china, sanitary ware and high A naturally occurring zoisitic rock found near tension insulators. It may also be used with Piney River, Virginia, has important advantages advantage as a partial substitute for feldspar, 45 45 for use in accordance with the present inven particularly in bodies containing more than 15% tion. This rock is composed chiefly of zoisite, of feldspar. It may also be substituted for whit albite, sericite and microcline with accessory ing or marble dust when these materials are in minerals of titanite, garnet, apatite, clino corporated into earthenware bodies. The amount of zoisitic rock which is used in 50 50 zoisite and quartz. The chemical analysis of the rock is approximately as follows: making the earthenware bodies may vary con siderably depending upon the particular kind of Per cent material which is desired as a final product. In S102 __________________________________ __ 58.72 general, the amount'of zoisitic rock may vary A1203 _________________________________ _- 24.70 from a few per cent up to around 60% and even 55 55 CaO __________________________________ __ 6.90 as high as about 70%, and it may be used in NazO _________________________________ __ 5.58 conjunction with various other materials such as, K20 __________________________________ __ 2.70 for example, whiting, magnesite, pyrophyllite, T102 _________________________________ __ 01.12 talc, etc. A given amount of calcium when intro duced as zoisitic rock is very effective in de 60 60 Fe2O3__~____'____; ______ _‘_.."_____'..'.. ______ __ 0.30 2 2,230,206 creasing the moisture expansion. Hence but small Consequently, when such materials are present amounts of calcium oxide are required when in in a slip, it is necessary to use considerably larger troduced as zoisitic rock in order to produce a quantities of the dispersing agents. I have decrease in the moisture expansion, as little as foundthat when zoisitic rock is substituted for 0.3% of calcium, calculated as calcium oxide, in . whiting or marble or magnesite, a. much smaller troduced into an earthenware body as zoisitic rock amount of dispersing agent is needed to produce ' causing a marked decrease in moisture expansion. a satisfactory casting slip. The dispersing agents For some purposes a larger amount is desirable usually contain Various soluble salts and a de and I have found that in white ware bodies the crease in the amount of these materials present 10 quantity of calcium introduced as zoisitic rock in a casting slip increases the life of the plaster 10' may vary from 0.3% to 5.0%, calculated as cal molds into which the slip is poured. The im cium oxide. proved results. which may be obtained when The proportion of clay may vary from about zoisitic rock is used in casting slips are illus 25 to 50% and the clay may be made up in part trated in the following table: .15 of Ball clay and in part of Georgia or Florida Vztreous ch'mq, bodies 15 kaolin. Other clays such as English china clay, English ball clay and North Carolina kaolin etc. may also be used. 1 2 3 4 , Flint may be used in varying amounts and may Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 20 constitute from about 5 to 35% or even 40% of 6. 34.0 37. 35.0 the earthenware body. 18. 0 ______ _ _ 18. 0 ________ . _ 17. 0 l7. 0 30. 0 30.0 The moisture expansion of ceramic bodies is 8. 0 8. 0 _________________ . _ commonly determined by subjecting them to a 10. 0 l0. 0 4. 0 4. 0 English ball claym- . 8.0 8.0 8.0 8. 0 steam pressure of about 150 pounds for a given Imported whiting . _ _ __ 2.0 _________ .. 2.0 ....... _. 25 length of time and then measuring the increase California Inagnesite___.v 1.0 ______ _. 1.0 _______ __ 25; in length, if any, which the body has undergone. Virginia zoisitic rock ____________ -. 23. 0 ________ __ 23. 0 The following table shows the decrease in. mois Per cent sodium silicate ture expansion produced in semi-porcelain din necessary to produce minimum viscosity. __ 0. 606 0.281 __________________ __ nerware bodies in which Virginia zoisitic rock Per cent organic clay de- ' 30 has replaced all of the feldspar. The semi-por ?occulant necessary to 3.0. celain bodies were subjected to 150 pounds steam produce minimum vis pressure for a period of about 3 hours. cosity ____________________________________ ._ 0.475 0.175 Semi-porcelain dinnerware bodies The table shows that body No. 2 in which Vir ginia zoisitic rock has replaced feldspar, whiting 1 2 3 and magnesite requires about 54% less sodium silicate to disperse it than body No. 1. The table Per cent Per cent Per cent also shows that body No. 4, in which Virginia 35.0 35.0 30.0 zoisitic rock has replaced feldspar, whiting and 12.0 __________________ __ 32. 0 32. 0 32. 0 magnesite, requires about 63% less organic clay 21. 0 21. 0 21. 0 de?occulant than body No. 3. - 40 ________ _. 12.0 17.0 This invention will be further illustrated by the Moisture expansion in percent of original length. 3 hrs. at 150# following examples showing typical body for steam pressure __________________ __ 0. 123 0.071 0.062 mulae for. various‘ types of ceramic products, 45 but it is not limited thereto: The table shows that body 2 has a moisture ex 45 pansion which is about 42% less than that of Vitreous china body 1, and that body 3 has a moisture expansion which is about 50% less than that of body 1.