The consolidation of red clay-based slurry by gelatinization of starch in a domestic pressure cooker was presented. Aqueous ceramic slurries were prepared consisting of a ternary powder mixture of red clay, quartz, feldspar, and different starch types. The starch slurries with and without the presence of ceramic particles demonstrated the same gelling mechanism and heating time inside the pressure cooker. The gel strengths of pressure-cooked samples were higher than samples heated conventionally. Subsequently, the shaping of large ceramic prototypes is possible using a calculated heating time based on best pressure cooking conditions. The physical characterizations disclosed that the pressure-cooked ceramic samples in dried and fired states exhibited better physical properties depending upon the type of starch added in the ceramic slurry. Specifically, the compressive strengths of fired ceramic bodies shaped in the pressure cooker ranged from 82 ± 2 to 255 ± 9 MPa with bulk porosities of 29.0 ± 0.8-18.7 ± 0.2%, whereas the conventionally shaped bodies possessed compressive strengths ranging from 138 ± 8 to 164 ± 11 MPa with bulk porosities of 25.6 ± 0.1-28.5 ± 0.2%.
pressure cooking; starch consolidation; red clay
