A method for forming a plugged honeycomb article includes feeding a ceramic precursor material through an extrusion die, the extrusion die having a plurality of pins, a plurality of cavities bounded by adjacent pins, and alternating end-faces of the plurality of pins include extensions extending from an outlet of the extrusion die in an extrusion direction. The method further includes extruding the ceramic precursor material through the extrusion die to form a web structure comprising a plurality of cell walls and channels bounded by adjacent cell walls, supporting the web structure that has been extruded through the extrusion die, and providing movement between the extrusion die and the web structure in at least one direction substantially orthogonal to the extrusion direction while the extensions are positioned in at least a portion of the channels.

A honeycomb structural body includes: a porous cell wall that partitions a cylindrical casing; and a large number of cells extending in the axial direction X thereof and alternately blocked at an upstream end face. The large number of cells include plugged cells having plugs and penetrating cells that do not have the plugs. The plugged cells and the penetrating cells both include complete cells and incomplete cells. At least some of plugged incomplete cells of the incomplete cells have a cross-sectional area smaller than a cross-sectional area of penetrating complete cells, and are configured as blocked cells that are entirely blocked inside in the axial direction.

A die includes a die body, a material supply portion, and a slit portion. The material supply portion includes a material supply surface, and a material supply hole that extends in an extrusion direction from the material supply hole. The slit portion includes an extrusion surface that faces the material supply surface across the material supply hole, and a slit that has a grid shape, opens on the extrusion surface, and communicates with the material supply hole. The slit has a grid point. The material supply hole is provided at a position corresponding to the grid point and coaxially with the grid point. An end of the material supply hole in the extrusion direction includes a throttle hole whose diameter decreases toward the grid point, and a guide hole that extends outward from the throttle hole and guides a material to the slit including the grid point.

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a honeycomb structure. The method includes molding a molded body from a mixture containing silicon carbide particles, an organic component, and a dispersion medium, removing the organic component included in the molded body to obtain a porous honeycomb body, and impregnating an inner portion of partition walls of the porous honeycomb body with metal silicon. In a state in which the porous honeycomb body is placed on a support inside a container containing solid metal silicon, the impregnating an inner portion of the partition walls is performed by heating the inside of the container to a temperature higher than or equal to a melting point of the metal silicon so that the porous honeycomb body is impregnated with molten metal silicon through the support that is porous.

A flow speed control plate is provided for use in combination with a die for forming a monolith. The flow speed control plate includes: a base plate having both a clay supply surface and a clay outflow surface that is to be superposed on a clay inflow surface of the die; clay flow holes which each penetrate the base plate and through which the clay flows from the clay supply surface to the clay outflow surface; and a positioning mechanism provided to position the flow speed control plate with respect to the die so that each of the clay flow holes of the flow speed control plate has its central axis arranged coaxially with a central axis of a corresponding one of clay inflow holes of the die. Moreover, a diameter of the clay flow holes is set to be smaller than a diameter of the corresponding clay inflow holes.

A honeycomb structure includes a central area and a reinforced outer peripheral area. A reference boundary cell with an inner wall orthogonal to an imaginary straight line, adjacent to the honeycomb center, and thinner than an outer wall adjacent to the honeycomb periphery has a reference wall different in wall thickness from the other three cell walls among the remaining four cell walls excluding the inner wall and the outer wall. The honeycomb structure includes a reference Y-shaped unit having the reference wall, the outer wall, and a cell wall. The honeycomb structure includes a plurality of Y-shaped units extending in the same directions as the reference Y-shaped unit. For every Y-shaped unit in the central area and the reinforced outer peripheral area of the honeycomb structure, the cell walls of each Y-shaped unit has an equal wall thickness.

A module includes flat ceramic segments, a potting material and a housing. The module exhibits relatively low pressure decay. A method for preparing such a module is provided.

Disclosed is a method for manufacturing a honeycomb structure. The method includes molding a molded body from a mixture containing silicon carbide particles, an organic component, and a dispersion medium, removing the organic component included in the molded body to obtain a porous honeycomb body, and impregnating an inner portion of partition walls of the porous honeycomb body with metal silicon. In a state in which the porous honeycomb body is placed on a support inside a container containing solid metal silicon, the impregnating an inner portion of the partition walls is performed by heating the inside of the container to a temperature higher than or equal to a melting point of the metal silicon so that the porous honeycomb body is impregnated with molten metal silicon through the support that is porous.

Batch mixtures for forming ceramic honeycomb bodies and methods of manufacturing honeycomb bodies from such batch mixtures are provided. The batch mixtures comprise.

A honeycomb extrusion die body (401) including inlet (414) and exit (402) faces, and a plurality of pins (406) on the exit face (402) defining a matrix of intersecting wide slots (425) and narrow slots (427). The wide slots (425) have an exit width (W1) greater than an exit width (W2) of the narrow slots (427). The die body (401) further includes feedholes (422) at the inlet face (414) and intersecting with inlet portions (416) to the wide slots (425) and/or the narrow slots (427). Some of the pins (406) defining the wide slots (425) include a first surface indentation feature (430) that is (i) located between the inlet portion (416) and the wide slot exit and (ii) spaced away from the wide slot exit. Some of the pins (406) defining the narrow slots (427) include a second surface indentation feature (434) that is (i) located between the inlet portion and the narrow slot exit and (ii) spaced away from the narrow slot exit.