Amorphous Ceramic Glaze Suppressing Crystallization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ceramic sanitaryware glazing methods face issues with surface roughness, crystallization, incompatibility of glaze layers, gas discharge forming needle holes, and lack of antibacterial properties, especially when using transparent glazes with pigments, leading to poor cleanliness and aesthetic issues.
Innovation Solution
An inorganic antibacterial amorphous coating is applied via a single firing method, comprising a porous surface coating layer with Co-Si, Co-Al, Cd-S, and Cd-Se pigments, and a transparent upper glaze layer with specific oxide compositions, applied using agitation/spraying/immersion methods, preventing crystallization and enhancing smoothness and dirt-repellence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If transparent glaze is applied to ceramic surfaces, then the surface becomes easier to clean and more aesthetic, but crystallization occurs on the surface leading to roughness and loss of glossiness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the chemical composition parameters of the glaze by adding specific amounts of ZnO (1-5 wt%), B2O3 (1-3 wt%), and SiO2 (70-80 wt%) to suppress crystallization. The firing temperature is optimized to 1100-1200°C to maintain the amorphous structure while achieving complete vitrification, thus preventing surface roughness and gloss loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite glaze system combining multiple oxide components (SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, MgO, Na2O, K2O, B2O3, ZnO) in specific proportions. This composite composition works synergistically to prevent crystallization while maintaining transparency and smoothness, resolving the contradiction between ease of cleaning and surface quality.
2Manufacturing precision
If double firing method is used to apply glaze, then the glaze quality is improved, but energy consumption increases and production time is extended
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the glaze application and final finishing operations into a single firing cycle. The glaze composition is designed to achieve complete vitrification, smooth surface formation, and crystallization suppression all in one firing process at 1100-1200°C, eliminating the need for separate firing steps and reducing production time while maintaining high glaze quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The glaze mixture is pre-prepared with optimized composition including frits and specific oxide ratios before application. This preliminary formulation ensures that during the single firing process, the glaze will automatically achieve the desired properties (smoothness, transparency, crystallization resistance) without requiring multiple firing cycles, thus saving time and energy.
3Illumination intensity
If pigments are added to transparent glaze for decoration, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but crystallization is triggered leading to surface roughness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the chemical environment of the glaze by adding ZnO (1-5 wt%) and B2O3 (1-3 wt%) which suppress crystallization triggered by pigments. The firing temperature is controlled at 1100-1200°C to maintain amorphous structure even in the presence of pigment particles, thus preventing surface roughness while allowing aesthetic coloration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses B2O3 and ZnO as intermediary substances that mediate between the pigment particles and the glaze matrix. These intermediaries prevent the pigments from triggering crystallization while maintaining their color properties, thus resolving the contradiction between aesthetic appearance and surface smoothness.
4Loss of time
If single firing method is used to reduce production time, then energy saving is achieved, but gas discharge forms needle holes on the glaze surface
Solution Approach 1:
The glaze composition includes pre-formulated frits and fluxes that create a porous or semi-porous structure during early stages of firing. This preliminary structure formation allows gas to escape through the glaze matrix before it fully melts and closes the pores, preventing needle hole formation while maintaining the single firing process for time and energy efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the firing temperature profile within the 1100-1200°C range and adjusts the chemical composition (adding specific fluxes and frits) to control the viscosity and gas permeability of the glaze during firing. This parameter optimization allows gas discharge without forming surface defects, achieving both time saving and surface quality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution achieves a significantly smoother and more antibacterial surface with reduced bacterial adhesion, maintaining glossiness and allowing for the use of pigments, while simplifying the production process and reducing energy consumption.
Implementation Method 1
The mixtures and the layer, which are obtained from ground ceramic raw materials with suitable compositions and which can form a structure similar to a glass structure as a result of the firing performed on the ceramic body, is called glaze
Implementation Method 2
an inorganic antibacterial amorphous coating... comprising a porous surface coating layer with Co-Si, Co-Al, Cd-S, and Cd-Se pigments
Implementation Method 3
The solution achieves a significantly smoother and more antibacterial surface with reduced bacterial adhesion
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an antibacterial amorphous coating, which provides features of gloss, smoothness and dirt-repellence to the ceramic body surface by using single firing method in industrial furnaces, and which basically comprises an opaque inorganic porous surface coating lower layer containing color pigments, and a transparent upper glaze layer containing at least one additive that prevents crystallization.