Patent ID: 8454887

Claim:
A method for pore size distribution control in a fired ceramic article comprising: selecting a batch composition for a green body precursor to the fired ceramic article; selecting a pore size distribution in the fired ceramic article comprising a first, a second, and a third pore size distribution; calculating a heating-rate (HR) in ° C./hour for firing the green body precursor at a first temperature range (A) of 950 to 1,050° C., a second temperature range (B) of 1,050 to 1,150° C., a third temperature range (C) of 1,150 to 1,250° C., and a fourth temperature range (D) of 1,250 to 1,350° C., respectively, according to: HR (950-1150° C. )=71.982+(−34.924)*(( Pa−AvPa )/RPa)*(( Pb−AvPb )/ RPb ); HR (1050-1150° C. )=65.438; HR (1150-1250° C. )=41.354+47.036*(( Pc−AvPc )/ RPc )+(−343.454)*(( Pa−AvPa )/ RPa )*(( Pb−AvPb )/ RPb )+(−146.896)*(( Pa−AvPa )/ RPa )*(( Pc−AvPc )/ RPc )+(−218.591)*(( Pb−AvPb )/ RPb )*(( Pc−AvPc )/ RPc ); and HR (1250-1350° C. )=93.773+(74.009)*(( Pa−AvPa )/ RPa )+(−33.744)*(( Pb−AvPb )/ RPb )+(81.385)*(( Pc−AvPc )/ RPc )+(−36.513)*(( Pa−AvPa )/ RPa )*(( Pb−AvPb )/ RPb ), where P is the pore size distribution in % vol, a, b and e represent the first, second, and third pore size distributions of <2, 2 to 5, and 5 to 10 microns, respectively, for low to high % intrusion volumes of: P <2 from 6.25 to 27.10; P 2-5 from 32.19 to 46.64; and P 5-10 from 16.84 to 41.44; Av is the average of the low and high P values, R is the range of the low and high P values divided by 2; and firing a green body precursor having the selected batch composition according to the calculated heating-rate, the median pore size diameter (MPD) of the fired ceramic article being greater than or equal to 5 micrometers.