A model based study of the drying and shrinkage behavior of a ceramic green body

This work presents a 1D diffusion model to characterize the drying procedure of a ceramic slab with respect to shrinkage. The proposed mathematical framework is comprised of a set of partial–differential and algebraic equations along with moving boundary conditions. The model predictions are compared to experimental data from the literature and a good agreement is accomplished. Afterwards, the parameters of a desorption isotherm equation are estimated based on experimental data from three drying tests, to characterize an industrially used clay material. A parametric analysis is conducted to study the impact of the drying-induced shrinkage on the drying kinetics of the ceramic body. The results indicate that the scale of shrinkage affects the porosity change which in turn, has a great impact on the drying kinetics and the properties distribution along the material. Finally, the drying dynamics of the green ceramic material is studied for a realistic shrinkage scenario, followed by the discussion of the results.