Evolution of the Mechanical Properties of Ceramics during Drying

The evaporative drying is the main step of many methods of the ceramic material manufacturing. One of the main problems here is the cracking and possible fracture due to the shrinkage during drying. The change of mechanical properties of the body during the process presents a real chal-lenge to study the fracture of the drying body. The methods of the mechanics of composites are used here to estimate the effective properties of ceramics during manufacturing. Two models of the drying body are used: viscoelastic liquid matrix containing a set of elastic solid inclusions, that corresponds to the first stage of the process, and liquid inclusions distributed in the elastic matrix, corresponding to the final stage, when the solid network is formed. The obtained results are in good agreement with experimental results available in the literature. 1