An Investigation of Thermal Shock in Porous Clay Ceramics

The thermal shock resistance of porous ceramic materials is often characterized by the Hasselman parameters. However, in other scenarios, the room-temperature residual strengths after thermal shock are also used to quantify the damage due to thermal shock. This paper attempts to link the measured residual strengths to the dominant crack features that are introduced due to thermal shock in porous clay ceramics produced by the sintering of clay powders with well-controlled size ranges. Residual strength estimates from bend tests are compared with fracture mechanics predictions. The implications of the residual strength results are then discussed for the characterization of damage due to thermal shock.