A process produces building materials with inert materials capable of remaining durably solid and with a low environmental impact. The process includes mixing sand, sodium hydroxide and possibly additives, adding calcined kaolin, adding sodium silicate and/or a mixture of sodium silicate and potassium hydroxide, and adding photocatalytic titanium dioxide.

A dry granular ceramic tile from a wet slurry spraying process and a preparation method thereof, comprises: applying an overglaze on a green body, applying a pattern by ink-jet printing, applying a dry granular glaze by bell-shaped spraying, and sintering to obtain ceramic tiles. The dry granular glaze contains: by mass percentage, dry granular frit A: 15%, dry granular frit B: 12% to 15%, dry granular frit C: 13% to 17%. The softening temperature of the dry granular frit A is 1135° C. to 1175° C., 980° C. to 1050° C. for the dry granular frit B, and 1020° C. to 1127° C. for the dry granular frit C. The dry granular frits used in the present invention adopts a combination of dry granular frits with three different melting points, and using such a matching method, it is convenient for the effective adjustment of the brick shape and the firing temperature during production.

Aspects of the present invention concern the production of draining porcelain stoneware tiles. Aspects of the present invention more particularly concern a tile with rectangular quadrilateral shape and edges with thickness (S), with a planar outer surface on which a series of variable geometry grooves are provided according to a drainage direction on the outer surface, wherein a drain fulcrum is defined at a central point on the substantially planar surface of the file and drainage direction are defined as extending radially inward from edges of the tile toward the drain fulcrum, and each of the plurality of grooves extends from the first end to the second end thereof in one of the drainage directions. The geometry of said groove can be triangular, trapezoidal or elliptical section. The vertexes of these embodiments form the bottom of said groove with height h, and said height h increases according to said drainage direction generating an inclined drainage plane of said groove.

Disclosed is a machinable dental bulk block that is a glass ceramic block including an amorphous glass matrix and crystalline phases introduced into the matrix. A major crystalline phase is lithium disilicate and minor crystalline phases are lithium phosphate and at least one of spodumene and virgilite. The dental block is made of a functionally gradient material in which the major crystalline phase exhibits a gradient of particle sizes in a depth direction of the dental block and which has no interface at a point where the gradient of particle sizes of the major crystalline phase changes. The dental bulk block is useful for production of a dental prosthesis (artificial tooth) similar to a natural tooth. The dental bulk block can reduce time and the number of processing steps to manufacture a dental prosthesis and provides improved structural stability through good force distribution obtained by functionally graded mechanical properties.

Additive manufacturing (AM) methods and devices for high-melting-point materials are disclosed. In an embodiment, an additive manufacturing method includes the following steps. (S1) Slicing a three-dimensional computer-aided design model of a workpiece into multiple layers according to shape, thickness, and size accuracy requirements, and obtaining data of the multiple layers. (S2) Planning a forming path according to the data of the multiple layers and generating computer numerical control (CNC) codes for forming the multiple layers. (S3) Obtaining a formed part by preheating a substrate, performing a layer-by-layer spraying deposition by a cold spraying method, and heating a spray area to a temperature until the spraying deposition of all sliced layers is completed. (S4) Subjecting the formed part to a surface modification treatment by a laser shock peening method.

A multi-zone cementitious product, which includes a base zone made of a first cementitious material composition and forming a portion of the product. At least one facing zone is adjacent to and bonded to the base zone, the facing zone made of a second cementitious material composition and forming at least one exterior face of said product which is visible when the product is installed. A disrupted boundary layer is between the facing zone and the base zone, and includes material from both the facing zone and the base zone. The disrupted boundary layer bonds the facing zone to the base zone. The facing zone has a thickness sufficient to prevent the base zone from being visible when the product is installed.

A method for patterning layers of 2D material by inducing self-assembly on a support substrate, the method comprising the steps of depositing a layer of 2D material on the support substrate; applying a force at a region consisting of a point, a line, or an a real region of the 2D material such that the 2D material forms a folded, self-contacting structure at that region.

Disclosed herein are plaster boards having a first surface and an opposing second surface, and a first edge and an opposing second edge that bound the first surface and the second surface. The first surface includes a first section and a second section, the first section being raised compared to the second section, the second section abutting the second edge. The second surface includes a first section and a second section that are separated by a boundary between the first edge and the second edge. The first section of the second surface is substantially parallel to the first section of the first surface. The second section of the second surface slopes toward the first surface from the boundary toward the second edge. Methods for making the plaster boards involve forming wet plaster material and drying the wet plaster material such that the wet plaster material hardens into a plasterboard.

Disclosed herein are plaster boards having a first surface and an opposing second surface, and a first edge and an opposing second edge that bound the first surface and the second surface. The first surface includes a first section and a second section, the first section being raised compared to the second section, the second section abutting the second edge. The second surface includes a first section and a second section that are separated by a boundary between the first edge and the second edge. The first section of the second surface is substantially parallel to the first section of the first surface. The second section of the second surface slopes toward the first surface from the boundary toward the second edge. Methods for making the plaster boards involve forming wet plaster material and drying the wet plaster material such that the wet plaster material hardens into a plasterboard.

Various embodiments for a median barrier finishing machine are described. A median barrier finishing machine may include a housing configured to encapsulate at least a portion of a median barrier, where the housing comprises a first vertical wall, a second vertical wall, and a horizontal wall. The median barrier finishing machine may include at least one adjustable member configured to couple the housing to the vehicle and retain the housing a predetermined distance relative to the vehicle while the vehicle is in motion. Further, the median barrier finishing machine may include at least one finishing device disposed within the housing, where the at least one finishing device is configured to contact a surface of a median barrier at least partially positioned within the housing and treat the surface as the vehicle moves the housing along a length of the median barrier.