title: Kinetics of moisture expansion in fired clay ceramics: a (time)(1/4) law.
abstract: We report the results of experiments to estimate the moisture expansion of several modern and ancient clay brick ceramics from the time of manufacture. From these data we propose a new expansion law, in which the expansive strain increases as (age)(1/4) approximately. Such time dependence is consistent with a mechanism in which expansion arises from a diffusion-controlled rehydration reaction on a linear or low-dimension structure. Our results provide new guidance for the engineering design of masonry and suggest a possible new method for archaeological dating of ceramics.
authors.affiliation: Manchester Centre for Civil & Construction Engineering, UMIST, P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, United Kingdom. moira.wilson@umist.ac.uk
authors.forename: Moira A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Hoff
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McKay
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiley