A portable high-power diode laser-based single-stage ceramic tile grout sealing system

Abstract

By means of a 60 W high power diode laser (HPDL) and a specially developed grout material the void between adjoining ceramic tiles has been successfully sealed. A single-stage process has been developed which uses a crushed ceramic tile mix to act as a tough, inexpensive bulk substrate and a glazed enamel surface to provide an impervious surface glaze. The single-stage ceramic tile grout sealing process yielded seals produced in normal atmospheric conditions that displayed no discernible cracks and porosities. The single-stage grout is simple to formulate and easy to apply.Tiles were successfully sealed with power densities as low as 200 kW/mm 2 and at rates of up to 600 mm/min. Bonding of the enamel to the crushed ceramic tile mix was identified as being primarily due to van der Waals forces and, on a very small scale, some of the crushed ceramic tile mix material dissolving into the glaze. In terms of mechanical, physical and chemical characteristics, the singlestage ceramic tile grout was found to be far superior to the conventional epoxy tile grout and, in many instances, matched and occasionally surpassed that of the ceramic tiles themselves. What is more, the development of a hand-held HPDL beam delivery unit and the related procedures necessary to lead to the commercialisation of the single-stage ceramic tile grout sealing process are presented. Further, an appraisal of the potential hazards associated with the use of the HPDL in an industrial environment and the solutions implemented to ensure that the system complies with the relevant safety standards are given.

Finite-element modelling of thermo-mechanical stress distribution in laser beam ceramic tile grout sealing process

“…The latent heat effects and any volume changes associated with melting and solidification were not considered in this model. An FE analysis of a ceramic tile grout sealing process was carried out by Lawrence et al [3] using ABAQUS. However, this analysis was limited to steady-state two-dimensional heat transfer.…”

Finite element analysis of stress distribution and the effects of geometry in a laser-generated single-stage ceramic tile grout seal using ANSYS

“…The inherent problems with commercial epoxy-based grouts motivated Lawrence and co-workers [2][3][4][5] to develop the single-stage ceramic tile grout sealing process. In this approach, a single pass of a high-power diode laser beam (HPDL) creates a vitrified platform that wets and bonds a layer of enamel frit to a substrate of crushed vitrified ceramic tiles and simultaneously seals off the surface with an enamel glaze.…”