Changes in the physicomechanical characteristics of a ceramic paste during drying.

This paper is a contribution to the determination of the variations of the physical and rheological properties of a ceramic paste during drying. The ceramic's density was determined as a function of moisture content using the Archimedes' Principle. The shrinkage was derived from the experimental density data and also determined by measuring the variation of the sample's dimensions during drying. Compression tests were performed at different deformation rates in order to identify the linear and non-linear viscoelastic domains of the material. Relaxation tests were carried out and the results of fitting showed that the generalized Maxwell model could be used to describe the viscoelastic behavior of the samples. Rupture tests were also made to measure the strength of the material for different moisture contents and to study the influence of temperature on the strength of the dried product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]