The Natural History of ClaySearle, Alfred B. (Alfred Broadhead)
Science
The Natural History of Clay
Searle, Alfred B. (Alfred Broadhead)
Clay
In the manufacture of very large pieces of terra-cotta a coarse, porous
clay is used for the foundation and interior, and this is covered with
the finer clay. By this means a greater resistance to changes in
temperature is secured, the drying and the burning of the material in
the kiln are facilitated and the risks of damage in manufacture are
materially reduced.
=Cement clays= are those used in the manufacture of Portland cement and
of so-called natural cements. They are largely of an alluvial character
and are of two chief classes: (_a_) those which contain chalk or
limestone dust and clay in proportions suitable for the manufacture of
cement and (_b_) those to which chalk or ground limestone must be added.
They vary in composition from argillaceous limestones containing only a
small proportion of clay to almost pure clays.
The manufacture of Portland cement has assumed a great importance and
owing to the large amount of investigations made in connection with it,
it may be said to represent the chief cement made from argillaceous
materials, the others being convenient though crude modifications of it.
The essential constituents are calcium carbonate (introduced in the form
of chalk or powdered limestone) and clay, the composition of the
naturally occurring materials being modified by the addition of a
suitable proportion of one or other of these ingredients. The material
is then heated until it undergoes partial fusion and a 'clinker' is
formed. This clinker, when ground, forms the cement.
In Kent, the Medway mud is mixed with chalk; in Sussex, a mixture of
gault clay and chalk is employed; in the Midlands and South Wales,
Liassic shales and limestone are used; in Northumberland a mixture of
Kentish chalk and a local clay is preferred, and in Cambridgeshire a
special marl lying between the Chalk and the Greensand is found to be
admirable for the purpose because it contains the ingredients in almost
exactly the required proportions.
For cement manufacture, clays should be as free as possible from
material which, in slip form, will not pass through a No. 100 sieve, as
coarse sand and other rock débris are practically inert. The proportion
of alumina and iron should be about one-third, but not more than
one-half, that of the silica, and in countries where the proportion of
magnesia in a cement is limited by standard specifications, it will be
found undesirable to use clays containing more than 3 per cent. of
magnesia and alkalies.
Whilst calcareous clays usually prove the most convenient in the
manufacture of cement, it is by no means essential to use them, and
where a clay almost free from lime occurs in convenient proximity to a
suitable chalk or limestone deposit an excellent cement may usually be
manufactured.
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