The present invention relates to coloured fiber cement products as well as to methods for manufacturing such products. In particular, the present invention provides coloured fiber cement products, which fiber cement products are coloured in the mass, and at least comprise on at least part of their outer surface one or more cured layers of a coating composition, which composition at least comprises a binder and a pigment and/or a filler and is characterized by a pigment volume concentration (PVC) of between about 1% and about 20%. The present invention further provides processes for producing these coloured fiber cement products. Finally, the present invention provides uses of the coloured fiber cement products as building materials. In particular embodiments, the fiber cement products produced by the processes of the present invention can be used to provide an outer surface to walls, both internal as well as external, a building or construction, e.g. as fagade plate, siding, etc.

Embodiments may include a coated granule for roofing systems. The coated granule may include an aluminum silicate granule and a coating disposed on the aluminum silicate granule. The coating may include a copolymer and a siloxane-based or a silane-based compound. The copolymer may be a cationic fluorinated (meth)acrylic copolymer. The aluminum silicate granule may have a particle size in a range from 0.2 mm to 2.4 mm. The aluminum silicate granule may have a 65% or greater reflectivity. The coated granule may repel oil and maintain its reflectivity better than with other techniques.

A preform intended for the production of a dental prosthesis. The preform includes a group of agglomerated ceramic, glass-ceramic or glass particles, such that, as volume percents: more than 40% and less than 90% of the particles of said group have a size greater than 0.5 μm and less than 3.5 μm, said particles hereinafter being denoted “enamel particles”, and more than 10% and less than 60% of the particles of said group have a size greater than 3.5 μm and less than 5.5 μm, said particles hereinafter being denoted “dentine particles.” The microstructure of the preform is such that there is an axis X, termed “axis of variation”, along which the Ve/(Ve+Vd) ratio changes continuously, Ve and Vd denoting the volume percents of enamel particles and of dentine particles, respectively. The enamel and dentine particles representing, together, more than 90% of the volume of the agglomerated particles.

A concrete-based composite material including iron rich particles is characterized by an iron content greater than 17% by weight of the composite material, can include iron particles which are an iron by-product recovered from iron slag material, can include iron rich particles which have an iron content of at least 60% by weight of the iron rich particles, and/or can include iron particles having a particle size distribution in the range of about −⅜ inch to +60 mesh or in the range of about −20 mesh to about +60 mesh. The composite material can include ground granulated blast furnace slag as a portion of the cementitious component of the composite material. A method of forming a structural element from the composite material includes casting the structural element such that the structural element is characterized by a ballistic performance of Level 10 as defined by Underwriters Laboratories standard UL752.

Described is a method for producing a coating with an aqueous coating composition AC, the method including: a) applying the aqueous coating composition AC to a cementitious substrate; and b) curing the applied aqueous coating composition AC. The aqueous coating composition AC includes at least one amino-functional copolymer VC and at least one epoxy silane ES and the coating composition has a pH in a range of 3 to 6.5. The weight ratio between amino-functional copolymer VC and epoxy silane ES (VC/ES) is in a range from 1.0 to 9.5. The composition can display self-etching properties on concrete surfaces, and thus, cementitious substrates do not have to be mechanically or chemically pretreated before the composition is applied.

Provided is a boron nitride sintered body including boron nitride particles and pores, in which an average pore diameter of the pores is less than 2 μm. Provided is a method for manufacturing a boron nitride sintered body, the method including: a nitriding step of firing a boron carbide powder in a nitrogen pressurized atmosphere to obtain a fired product containing boron carbonitride; and a sintering step of molding and heating a blend containing the fired product and a sintering aid to obtain the boron nitride sintered body including boron nitride particles and pores, in which the sintering aid contains boron oxide and calcium carbonate, and the blend contains 1 to 20 parts by mass of a boron compound and a calcium compound in total with respect to 100 parts by mass of the fired product.

Provided is a boron nitride sintered body including boron nitride particles and pores, in which a compressive elastic modulus is 1 GPa or more. Provided is a method for manufacturing a boron nitride sintered body, the method including: a nitriding step of firing a boron carbide powder in a nitrogen atmosphere to obtain a fired product containing boron carbonitride; and a sintering step of molding and heating a blend containing the fired product and a sintering aid to obtain the boron nitride sintered body including boron nitride particles and pores, in which the sintering aid contains a boron compound and a calcium compound, and the blend contains 1 to 20 parts by mass of the boron compound and the calcium compound in total with respect to 100 parts by mass of the fired product.

Provided is a boron nitride sintered body including boron nitride particles and pores, in which a compressive elastic modulus is 1 GPa or more. Provided is a method for manufacturing a boron nitride sintered body, the method including: a nitriding step of firing a boron carbide powder in a nitrogen atmosphere to obtain a fired product containing boron carbonitride; and a sintering step of molding and heating a blend containing the fired product and a sintering aid to obtain the boron nitride sintered body including boron nitride particles and pores, in which the sintering aid contains a boron compound and a calcium compound, and the blend contains 1 to 20 parts by mass of the boron compound and the calcium compound in total with respect to 100 parts by mass of the fired product.

Provided is a method for manufacturing a composite body, the method including: a nitriding step of firing a boron carbide powder in a nitrogen atmosphere to obtain a fired product containing boron carbonitride; a sintering step of molding and heating a blend containing the fired product and a sintering aid to obtain a boron nitride sintered body including boron nitride particles and pores; and an impregnating step of impregnating the boron nitride sintered body with a resin composition, the composite body having the boron nitride sintered body and a resin filled in at least some of the pores of the boron nitride sintered body.

Provided is a method for manufacturing a composite body, the method including: a nitriding step of firing a boron carbide powder in a nitrogen atmosphere to obtain a fired product containing boron carbonitride; a sintering step of molding and heating a blend containing the fired product and a sintering aid to obtain a boron nitride sintered body including boron nitride particles and pores; and an impregnating step of impregnating the boron nitride sintered body with a resin composition, the composite body having the boron nitride sintered body and a resin filled in at least some of the pores of the boron nitride sintered body.