Kinetics of moisture expansion in fired clay ceramics: a (time)(1/4) law.
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.
Wilson
Moira A
MA
Manchester Centre for Civil & Construction Engineering, UMIST, P.O. Box 88, Manchester M60 1QD, United Kingdom. moira.wilson@umist.ac.uk
Hoff
William D
WD
Hall
Christopher
C
McKay
Bernard
B
Hiley
Anna
A