Plastic-to-Brittle transition of consolidated bodies: Effect of counterion size

Abstract

The effect of ion size on the force necessary to remove counterions from the surface when particles are forced into contact (primary minimum) was investigated. Alumina slurries dispersed at pH 12 and then coagulated with 0.5 M Li+, Cs+, and tetraethylammonium (TEA+) chlorides were consolidated by pressure filtration at different applied pressures. Uniaxial compression tests were performed to determine the plastic-to-brittle transition pressure for bodies formulated with each of the different counterions. Brittle bodies are produced when particles are pushed together to form a strong touching network. The force required to push particles together is related to the slope of the repulsive poten..