Ceramic tile glazes: Design, trends and applications

The purpose of this lecture is to describe the state of the art of glazes for applications in ceramic tile industry. A glaze for application in ceramic tile industry must satisfy certain requirements, which may be divided into two large groups, one in relation to its preparation and industrial utilisation and the other specific of the product utilisation. In order to design glaze compositions certain aspects must be taken into account. Viscosity and surface tension of the melt matching the body requirements, linear thermal expansion, nucleation and crystal growth processes occurring during firing, durability and optical properties must be designed and adjusted in the industrial practice. Glass-ceramic systems are the more suitable compositions for innovative glazes for fast firing of wall and floor tiles.