Lighter tableware ceramic by controlling porosity: Effect of porosity on mechanical properties

Reduction in weight of ceramics has been achieved by using a specific porous agent, starch, to achieve porosity ranging from 10% to 35%. Two incorporation routes of the porous agent have been investigated. For different levels of weight reduction, ceramics are characterized by microstructural analysis and mechanical testing. It is shown that the feature of the porous phase mainly depends on the processing route. Two step route leads to the best microstructures and allows ceramics be made up to ten percent lighter without impacting compressive strength (380 MPa) and similar to matrix but with larger variation. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.