Investigating the correlations between material parameters and ultrasonic transmission velocity in building ceramics

More effective utilization of nondestructive testing in building ceramics industry was aimed in this study by comparing the data obtained from physical, mechanical tests and ultrasonic through transmission velocity measurements. There is a wide range of ceramic products used in the building applications. Taking advantage of the easiness of the ultrasonic evaluation several building ceramics such as fired clay products of tiles and bricks, and also some refractories were tested in this study. In the first step the ultrasound transition velocities of all the samples have been measured. Then water absorption, compressive strength and three point bending strength tests have been carried out. The physical, mineralogical and mechanical properties of the samples have been determined according to the standards of ?TS-EN 771? and Réunion Internationale des Laboratoires et Experts des Matériaux (RILEM). The test results have been prepared statistically and then computer simulations have been prepared. Finally, XRD analysis of the samples has been also carried out and the results have been compared with ultrasonic test data. The results from both physical tests and ultrasonic measurements indicate that nondestructive testing is a useful method of evaluation for the final products. As the quality of the fired products is easily evaluated by laser ultrasound, they either go to packaging or return to the row material processing due to critical defects determined. This will ensure not only production of high quality products but also minimize the raw material cost by reducing the amount of waste. Keywords: Building ceramics, ultrasound, fired clay products, brick, refractory, tile.