Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why must newly shaped ceramic ware be dried before firing?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Stages in the slip casting of a thin-walled whiteware container. Clay powder is mixed in water together with a dispersing agent, which keeps the clay particles suspended evenly throughout the clay-water slurry, or slip. The slip is poured into a plaster mold, where water is drawn out by capillary action and a cast is formed by the deposition of clay particles on the inner surfaces of the mold. The remaining slip is drained, and the cast is allowed to dry partially before the drain hole is plugged and the mold separated. The unfinished ware is given a final drying in an oven before it is fired into a finished product.
traditional ceramics Stages in the slip casting of a thin-walled whiteware container. Clay powder is mixed in water together with a dispersing agent, which keeps the clay particles suspended evenly throughout the clay-water slurry, or slip. The slip is poured into a plaster mold, where water is drawn out by capillary action and a cast is formed by the deposition of clay particles on the inner surfaces of the mold. The remaining slip is drained, and the cast is allowed to dry partially before the drain hole is plugged and the mold separated. The unfinished ware is given a final drying in an oven before it is fired into a finished product.

Newly shaped ceramic ware must be dried before firing primarily to remove evaporable water from the clay body.1

This step is a critical part of the processing of traditional ceramics. If a piece is not thoroughly dried, the rapid heating that occurs inside a kiln can cause the remaining moisture to turn into steam, which may lead to the ware cracking or exploding. Once the evaporable water is removed, the ceramic can safely undergo the gradual heating required to eliminate structural water, burn off organic binders, and achieve consolidation through vitrification.1