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I finally gave up trying to dry the inner section of this DFAC test. During that test the inner part of the disk is shielded from the air flow or heat lamp. This sets up a shrinkage gradient that encourages cracking of the sample. But with some clays drying can be so slow that it can take a days. Serious cracking and high drying shrinkage almost always accompanies this phenomenon.
| Tests |
Drying Factor
The DFAC Drying Factor test visually displays a plastic clay's response to very uneven drying. It is beneficial to show the relative drying performance of different clays. |
| Glossary |
Drying Shrinkage
Clays used in ceramics shrink when they dry because of particle packing that occurs as inter-particle water evaporates. Excessive or uneven shrinkage causes cracks. |
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