The Role of the Kaolinite-Mullite Reaction Sequence in Moisture Mass Gain in Fired Kaolinite

2010 ◽  
Vol 68 ◽  
pp. 38-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hesham Mesbah ◽  
Moira A. Wilson ◽  
Margaret A. Carter

Kaolinite (2SiO2.Al2O3.2H¬¬¬¬2O), an aluminosilicate mineral, is the most common constituent mineral in clay used in manufacturing traditional ceramics such as whitewares, some refractories and structural clay products. On firing, kaolin (mainly kaolinite) undergoes several phase transformations. Immediately following firing, kaolin starts to chemically combine with atmospheric moisture. This reaction causes a mass increase that is proportional to the fourth root of time. The consequence of this mass gain is an accompanying expansive strain. Kaolinite transformations following firing at a range of temperatures between 700 and 1200 oC were examined by XRD. Following firing, high accuracy mass gain measurements were carried out using a microbalance under precisely controlled conditions of temperature and relative humidity. It was found that the formation and development of crystalline phases increases with increasing firing temperature. This causes a reduction in the amorphous phase which, in turn, leads to reduced mass gain. Kaolin fired at 1200 oC exhibited the least reactivity with moisture and mullite was found to be the dominant crystalline phase after firing at that temperature. SEM was used to examine microstructural changes in the fired specimens. The reactivity of the ceramic with moisture is shown to be directly related to the crystallinity of the fired clay.

2016 ◽  
Vol 711 ◽  
pp. 837-843
Author(s):  
Marco Agnelli ◽  
Bruno Huet ◽  
Vincent Briaud ◽  
Elodie André ◽  
Alexander Pisch

This paper focuses on the carbonation of non-hydraulic binders based primarily on wollastonite (CaSiO3) in order to study the relationship between clinker composition, curing conditions and compaction on carbonation reaction rate. Decoupled carbonation and drying experiments are carried out using cements at different CaO/SiO2 ratio, at 60 °C, 1 bar of CO2 and multiple RH (relative humidity) and compaction degrees. Solid analysis include mass gain or loss, TGA, XRF and Carbon/Hydrogen (CH) to determine respectively the bound H2O content, CO2 content and the mineralogical assemblage. Relative humidity strongly influences carbonation intrinsic reaction rate, while compaction seems to be a second order mechanism. Testing procedure can be used to discriminate the reactivity of clinkers with various initial phase assemblage.


ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 801 ◽  
pp. 459-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
John-David Nako ◽  
Nicole S. Lee ◽  
Jonathan C. Wright

Arthropods require periodic molting in order to grow which presents a number of challenges to terrestrial taxa. Following ecdysis, the pliant new cuticle is susceptible to buckling under gravity and requires elevated hydrostatic pressure for support. Terrestrial species also require a mechanism of volume expansion and stretching of the integument prior to sclerotization, a need that is readily met in aquatic arthropods by drinking. Options for land arthropods include drinking of dew, swallowing of air, or using muscular contractions to inflate air sacs in tracheate taxa. In this study we tested the hypothesis that crinochete terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Crinocheta) exploit their capacity for active water vapor absorption (WVA) to increase volume during molting. Two crinochete species,ArmadillidiumvulgareandPorcelliodilatatus, were studied and compared with the non-absorbing speciesLigidiumlapetum(Oniscidea: Ligiamorpha). Pre-molting animals were identified by sternal CaCO3deposits and exposed to 100% or 97% relative humidity (RH). Mass-changes were monitored by daily weighing and the timing of the posterior and anterior ecdyses was used to categorize time (days premolt and days post-molt) over the molt cycle. In each treatment RH,A.vulgareandP.dilatatusshowed a progressive mass increase from 5 days premolt until the posterior or anterior ecdysis, followed abruptly by period of mass-loss lasting 3–4 days post-molt. The fact that the initial mass-gain is seen in 97 % RH, a humidity below the water activity of the hemolymph, confirms the role of WVA. Similarly, since the post-molt mass-loss is seen in 100 % RH, this must be due to active expulsion of water, possibly via maxillary urine. Concurrent changes in hemolymph osmolality were monitored in a separate batch ofA.vulgareand show sustained osmolality during premolt and an abrupt decrease between the anterior and posterior ecdysis. These patterns indicate a mobilization of sequestered electrolytes during premolt, and a loss of electrolytes during the post-molt mass-loss, amounting to approximately 8.6 % of total hemolymph solutes. WVA, in conjunction with pulses of elevated hemolymph pressure, provides an efficient mechanism of pre-molt volume expansion prior to and during the biphasic molt in these species. PremoltLigidiumlapetumexposed to same treatments failed to molt successfully and no premolt animals survived to day 3 (72 h) even in 100 % RH. The apparent dependence of this species on liquid water for successful molting could explain its obligatory association with riparian fringe habitats.


Author(s):  
Sina Shaffiee Haghshenas ◽  
Behrouz Pirouz ◽  
Sami Shaffiee Haghshenas ◽  
Behzad Pirouz ◽  
Patrizia Piro ◽  
...  

Nowadays, an infectious disease outbreak is considered one of the most destructive effects in the sustainable development process. The outbreak of new coronavirus (COVID-19) as an infectious disease showed that it has undesirable social, environmental, and economic impacts, and leads to serious challenges and threats. Additionally, investigating the prioritization parameters is of vital importance to reducing the negative impacts of this global crisis. Hence, the main aim of this study is to prioritize and analyze the role of certain environmental parameters. For this purpose, four cities in Italy were selected as a case study and some notable climate parameters—such as daily average temperature, relative humidity, wind speed—and an urban parameter, population density, were considered as input data set, with confirmed cases of COVID-19 being the output dataset. In this paper, two artificial intelligence techniques, including an artificial neural network (ANN) based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and differential evolution (DE) algorithm, were used for prioritizing climate and urban parameters. The analysis is based on the feature selection process and then the obtained results from the proposed models compared to select the best one. Finally, the difference in cost function was about 0.0001 between the performances of the two models, hence, the two methods were not different in cost function, however, ANN-PSO was found to be better, because it reached to the desired precision level in lesser iterations than ANN-DE. In addition, the priority of two variables, urban parameter, and relative humidity, were the highest to predict the confirmed cases of COVID-19.


2016 ◽  
Vol 225 ◽  
pp. 96-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Fratoddi ◽  
A. Bearzotti ◽  
I. Venditti ◽  
C. Cametti ◽  
M.V. Russo

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 927-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. López ◽  
E. E. Ávila

Abstract. This study reports measurements of deposition-mode ice-nucleating particle (INP) concentrations at ground level during the period July–December 2014 in Córdoba, Argentina. Ambient air was sampled into a cloud chamber where the INP concentration was measured at a temperature of −25 °C and a 15 % supersaturation over ice. Measurements were performed on days with different thermodynamic conditions, including rainy days. The effect of the relative humidity at ground level (RHamb) on the INP concentration was analyzed. The number of INPs activated varied from 1 L−1 at RHamb of 25 % to 30 L−1 at RHamb of 90 %. In general, a linear trend between the INP concentration and the RHamb was found, suggesting that this variability must be related to the effectiveness of the aerosols acting as INPs. From the backward trajectories analysis, it was found that the link between INP concentration and RHamb is independent of the origin of the air masses. The role of biological INPs and nucleation occurring in pores and cavities was discussed as a possible mechanism to explain the increase of the INP concentration during high ambient relative humidity events. This work provides valuable measurements of deposition-mode INP concentrations from the Southern Hemisphere where INP data are sparse so far.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano ◽  
Raquel Nieto ◽  
Luis Gimeno ◽  
Cesar Azorin-Molina ◽  
Anita Drumond ◽  
...  

Abstract. We analyzed changes in surface relative humidity (RH) at the global scale from 1979 to 2014 using both observations and ERA-Interim dataset. We compared the variability and trends of RH with those of land evapotranspiration and ocean evaporation in moisture source areas across a range of selected regions worldwide. The sources of moisture for each particular region were identified by integrating different observational data and model outputs into a lagrangian approach. The aim was to account for the possible role of changes in air temperature over land, in comparison to sea surface temperature (SST), on RH variability. Results demonstrate a strong agreement between the interannual variability of RH and the interannual variability of precipitation and land evapotranspiration in regions with continentally-originated humidity. In contrast, albeit with the dominant positive trend of air temperature/SST ratio in the majority of the analyzed regions, the interannual variability of RH in the target regions did not show any significant correlation with this ratio over the source regions. Also, we did not find any significant association between the interannual variability of oceanic evaporation in the oceanic humidity source regions and RH in the target regions. Our findings stress the need for further investigation of the role of both dynamic and radiative factors in the evolution of RH over continental regions at different spatial scales.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document