Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.100, No.7, 3108-3121, 2017
Processes and kinetics of mass gain in archeological brick following drying and reheating
The mass gain behavior of archeological bricks was examined following drying (130 degrees C)/reheating (500 degrees C) and aging at a range of temperatures (25 degrees C, 35 degrees C, 45 degrees C). For drying or reheating, samples exhibit a two-stage mass gain behavior, the second stage, Stage 2, continuing indefinitely and better described by a t(1/n) model (1/n=1/6-1/2); a correlation between the 1/n value and the specific surface area/pore volume demonstrates diffusion mechanisms with some pore geometry/morphology dependence. Stage 2 is shown to have an Arrhenius temperature dependence with activation energies of similar orders of magnitude following both drying and reheating. Supported by thermogravimetric-mass spectrometry (TG-MS), Stage 2 is demonstrated as likely due to the recombination of chemisorbed water, previously removed, whereas following reheating due to two components, a chemisorbed component associated with drying and a component associated with rehydroxyls removed at higher temperatures during reheating. Differences between activation energies of chemisorption and rehydroxylation components support this. Evidence for a fundamental compositional relationship between these processes is presented by a strong linear relationship between the drying and reheating mass gain rates. Stage 1, following drying or reheating, is shown to be likely associated with physisorption processes alone.