Phys Rev Lett 2003 Mar 28;9012:125503. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.90.125503.

Kinetics of moisture expansion in fired clay ceramics: a (time)(1/4) law.

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We report the results of experiments to estimate the moisture expansion of several modern and ancient clay brick ceramics from the time of manufacture. From these data we propose a new expansion law, in which the expansive strain increases as (age)(1/4) approximately. Such time dependence is consistent with a mechanism in which expansion arises from a diffusion-controlled rehydration reaction on a linear or low-dimension structure. Our results provide new guidance for the engineering design of masonry and suggest a possible new method for archaeological dating of ceramics.

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