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Porous ceramic materials exhibit high permeability, specific surface, and thermal shock resistance, and therefore they may be used successfully in the production of filters, membranes, and as a substrate for catalytic reactions, etc. One method for preparing high material porosity is addition of a pore-forming substance. Porosity (open and closed), pore size distribution, their size and shape, depend on the nature, amount, and morphology of pore-forming substance. In this article the effect is elucidated of three different types of carbon additives on porosity of ceramic prepared from clay and chemical binder precursor. Carbon materials are studied in an x-ray diffractometer. Ceramic material properties are studied using a mercury porosimeter, the Archimedes method, scanning electron and optical microscopes, and microcomputer tomography.

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Ceramic macro-needles incorporation as reinforcement in commercial refractory castable was studied. Ceramic macro-needles (Ø2x20 mm) were made from kaolinite clay and gibbsite to obtain mullite as the main crystalline phase. Specimens with the ceramic reinforcement were evaluated by compression after being treated at two temperatures (815 and 1400 °C). The results were compared with those obtained using the same commercial concrete but reinforced with steel fibers and without reinforcement. Compression values presented by specimens with ceramic macro-needles were 74% and 50% higher than specimens with steel fibers after exposition to 815 and 1400 °C, respectively. Based on these results, it was established that ceramic macro-needles are a feasible solution to improve the mechanical resistance of castables exposed to high temperatures.

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