A study of some physical properties of composition of kaolin in clay: A comparative study on Asamang and Agona clay.

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2015-07-12
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Abstract
Some physical properties of the effect of composition of Kaolin on clay samples obtained from the Sekyere south district were studied. The raw clay samples were processed into powdered form, and a composite mixture of raw processed clay and kaolin were formed, with the kaolin composition increasing from 20 to 80 in Agona and Asamang samples. The powdered raw clay samples were characterized using the X-Ray Diffraction analysis. The composite samples, together with the raw samples were further processed into cubic and cylindrical dimensions and finally fired at 1000 . Properties which include; Total shrinkage, water absorption, bulk density, specific gravity, cold crushing strength, weight loss, thermal conductivity, thermal resistivity, specific heat capacity and thermal diffusivity, were measured by the appropriate standard methods. The results show that the inclusion of kaolin in the samples affects the various properties of the samples: Porosity increases with percentage increase in kaolin across Agona and Asamang samples while thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity reduced with percentage increase in kaolin. Optimum parameters were met by the various compositions and appropriate recommendations were prescribed for industrial implementations. The XRD – (phase analysis) showed the minerals as mainly Silicates and Alumina of various proportions. The mineral compositions of the clays outline their prospects of been used as alternative materials for various purposes of utilization; which include construction, due to their relatively high cold crushing strength coupled with their low thermal conductivity and refractory purposes, due to their low thermal conductivity.
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Thesis submitted to the Department of Physics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of MASTER of PHILOSOPHY (SOLID STATE PHYSICS) 2015
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