Study of a quantitative method to evaluate the wear resistance of glazed tiles

As glazes are papery, there is no method capable of evaluating the surface wear resistance of glazed tiles. Thus, Taber abraser with rubber wheels and abrasive belts was employed to grind out a regular wear track. The volume of track was estimated using profilometer and its analyzing software precisely. The evaluation reliability of this method was verified using six float glasses, and the standard deviation of volume loss results could be controlled less than 10%. The appropriate operating parameters were investigated using float glasses and two types of ceramic tiles from different manufacturers. The method proposed in this work has potential of success to evaluate the surface wear resistance of ceramic tiles quantitatively and precisely.