Ceramics Glaze Technology

Up to this point, the term “glaze” has been associated with a fired glassy coating on a ceramic substrate, but the term is also applied to the unfired composition once the essential inorganic component parts have been mixed together. As the selection made of these constituent materials (which may be preformed glasses, minerals or manufactured chemicals) can affect both the ease of processing of the raw glaze mix and properties of the fired glaze, an understanding of their properties and the glaze production processes is clearly desirable. The use of minor amounts of various additives offers many benefits because they can assist in the sundry manufacturing processes which occur prior to the glost firing and the glaze technologist needs to appreciate the effects of using materials to achieve the best results.
This volume will deal with these several and various aspects of glazes. After an initial discussion of the nature and properties of glasses, the raw materials, production, glazing and firing processes associated with glazes will be described, together with the testing methods employed in the various areas of glaze manufacture and use. Mention will also be made of some common faults associated with glaze whether or not these are due to an unwanted characteristic of the glaze composition, its processing or its use.