Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:57:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AndreaSP.pdf: 1820286 bytes, checksum: a1263199151d8fb3f317fa86bacf6014 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-05-19 / The State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, possess major deposits of feldspar, clay, kaolin and talc, all raw materials used in the production of porcelainized stoneware tiles. Conversely, state industries manufacture only low added value red ceramics. Porcelainized stoneware tiles is one of the noblest ceramics, depicting low water absorption (typically below of 0,5%), in addition to excellent staining resistance and mechanical strength. The present work aims at investigating the potential of local raw materials for the production of porcelainized stoneware tiles. To that end, these materials were characterized by X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, particle size analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis and thermal differential analysis. Admixtures containing different compositions were prepared and fired at three temperatures, 1150, 1200 and 1250?C for 30 min. After firing, tests samples were characterized by water absorption tests, linear retraction, dilatometric analysis, apparent porosity, apparent specific mass, flexural strength, and microstructural analysis by XRD and SEM. The results revealed that ceramics with porcelainized stoneware tiles characteristics could be produced from raw materials originated in the State of Rio Grande do Norte / O Rio Grande do Norte possui grandes jazidas de pegmatitos, argilas caulin?ticas e caulim, principais mat?rias-primas para a fabrica??o de gr?s porcelanato. No entanto, o RN produz apenas produtos de baixo valor agregado em rela??o ao porcelanato, uma das mais nobres cer?micas de revestimento, devido a sua baixa absor??o d??gua (tipicamente abaixo de 0,5%), al?m de apresentar excelentes caracter?sticas t?cnicas, destacando-se elevada resist?ncia mec?nica, ao risco e ao manchamento. O presente trabalho tem a finalidade de validar o potencial de mat?rias-primas do RN (feldspato, argila, caulim e talco beneficiado) para a produ??o de gr?s porcelanato. Para isso, foi feita a caracteriza??o das mat?rias primas por FRX, DRX, AG, ATG e ATD, elaborando-se cinco formula??es que foram queimadas em tr?s temperaturas: 1150, 1200 e 1250?C com 30 minutos de patamar. Ap?s a queima, os corpos-de-prova foram submetidos a ensaios de absor??o de ?gua, retra??o linear, porosidade aparente, massa espec?fica aparente, resist?ncia ? flex?o, DRX, MEV e an?lise dilatom?trica. Obteve-se para uma das misturas, propriedades compat?veis com as exigidas para um gr?s porcelanato