The method proposed herein for the rational mineralogical analysis of ceramics uses conventional results obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) in addition to a free quartz content correction evaluated for different types of clays. All this information was collected and used to assemble matrix systems containing linear equations. Each line of the system represents an element present in one of the crystallographic phases detected by XRD, and each column the phase itself. The solution of the equation systems is found from sub-routines such as A.X = B, whose output is the likely mineralogical composition of the constituents of a particular clay. The joint use of chemical and rational analyses provides a powerful tool to establish the detailed composition of raw materials used in the formulation of industrial ceramic mixtures.
rational mineralogical analysis; clays; clay minerals; free quartz
