Abstract
A comparative study of a single-stage ceramic tile grout, generated using a 60 W high power diode laser (HPDL), and a commercially available tile grout has determined the wear characteristics of the two materials. Within both normal and corrosive environmental conditions, the single-stage ceramic tile grout proved to have a superior wear rate over the epoxy tile grout, 0.9 mg/cm2 h compared with 125 mg/cm2 h, when in an HNO3 environment. Likewise, life assessment testing revealed that the single-stage ceramic tile grout gave an increase in wear life of 4-42 times over the commercially available epoxy tile grout, depending upon the corrosive environment. It is believed that the economic and material benefits to be gained from the deployment of such an effective and efficient means of sealing ceramic tiles could be significant.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 88-95 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Wear |
| Volume | 252 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2002 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors would like to express their gratitude to the EPSRC: Process Engineering Group (Grant No. GR/M46068) for their financial support of this work. The authors are also grateful to BNFL, Diomed Ltd., Ferro Group Ltd. (UK) and Ove Arrup & Partners for their valuable technical assistance.
Keywords
- Epoxy tile grout
- High power diode laser
- Life characteristics
- Single-stage seal
- Surface glazing
- Wear
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanics of Materials
- Surfaces and Interfaces
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films
- Materials Chemistry