Application of the acoustic emission technique to characterise liquid transfer in a porous ceramic during drying

• Published in: Journal of the European Ceramic Society Vol. 26; no. 7; pp. 1075 - 1084
• Main Authors: Chotard, T., Quet, A., Ersen, A., Smith, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 2006; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acoustic emission; Applied sciences; Building materials. Ceramics. Glasses; Ceramic industries; Chemical industry and chemicals; Drying; Exact sciences and technology; Acoustic emission; Drying; Water; Sorption; Adsorption; Desorption; Manufacturing; Liquid phase; Experimental study; Ceramic materials; Porous material
• ISSN: 0955-2219; 1873-619X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2005.01.048

In this paper, some aspects of the characterisation of liquid transfer during drying process of a porous ceramic by acoustic emission (AE) technique are presented and discussed. Results are compared with the general theory of drying and a recent approach dealing with thermodynamic modelling based on capillary stresses and hygromechanical coupling. The sensitivity of the acoustic emission technique to the energy release processes acting during liquid transfer in a porous material (sorption and desorption) has been emphasised. Based on the experiments, the relationship between the AE characteristics recorded during the tests and the different mechanisms, which take place during drying process, was underlined. Information deduced from AE measurements associated with other data obtained from weight-loss measurements enable to propose a qualitative description of drying chronology. The results show that this new application of the AE technique could be considered as a valuable tool to study the liquid transfer in a porous material.