Use of Konya Clay for Porcelain Tile Productions

Porcelain tiles are the most preferred products in ceramic tiles due to their low water absorption, superior mechanical and aesthetic properties. Ukrainian clays are used in the production of these products because of their low iron content and high plasticity, The Ukrainian clay is an imported raw material and its price increases every year, and so it increases the cost of the production of porcelain tiles. In this respect, the use of local raw materials will provide a significant cost advantage to ceramic companies. In the study, the use of Konya clay instead of Ukrainian clay was investigated in porcelain tile body compositions and the effects on the technical properties of the bodies were determined. For this purpose; Ukrainian clay was gradually removed and Konya clay were added to the standard porcelain tile composition of Usak Ceramic. The developed bodies were fired in Usak Ceramics industrial roller kilns at 1210 ° C for 52 minutes. All physical and optical properties of the bodies were examined. Sintering behaviors were examined by optical dilatometer and thermal expansion coefficients were measured by dilatometer. The phases developed in the body were determined by XRD analysis and microstructure investigations were made by scanning electron microscopy. According to the results, the use of Konya clay instead of Ukrainian clay in the body increases the dry strength values, water absorption and firing shrinkage values of the bodies. As a result, it was determined that the use of Konya clay would be possible with some optimizations in the composition of porcelain tiles