Natural Clay Material for Terracotta Facade Cladding

Clay is the material first and most widely used for producing potteries/ceramics, ranging from ancient ceramic utensils, bricks of Great Wall of China, Terracotta Warriors and Horses to modern ceramics (artistic ceramics, domestic ceramics and Architectural Terracotta) that people frequently utilze nowadays. Terracotta facade cladding – one of the most eco-friendly building materials nowadays – is made of natural clay by using wet extrusion and high-temperature calcination processes. But not every kind of clay is suitable for producing Terracotta Facade. Clay is composed of clay minerals (such as iron oxide, feldspar, calcium, carbonate, magnesium carbonatel silicon dioxide and alkali-metal compounds) as well as soluble salts and organics, the latter of which severely affect the quality of terracotta panels. The type and usability of clay are greatly dependent on its geological location. Different kinds of clay are different in chemical composition, mineral composition, particle size and plasticity. Those differences have a direct impact on the drying and calcination conditions. Today, the bet clay in China is distributed in Jiangsu, Fujian and Guangdong provinces, etc.

Clay is one of the factors critical to the quality of terracotta panels. During the production cycle of Terracotta Cladding, the production line just takes relatively short time. In contrast, more time is spent on clay preparation, which includes raw-material selection, natural souring, batching and grinding.

Due to the constraint of space and equipment, most of Terracotta Panel manufacturers in China are using the clay processed by suppliers who mix the clay before grinding it into power. It is rather difficult to guarantee the consistency and stability of such clay that is sourced from outside suppliers. This consequently poses a big challenge to th controlling of the quality and color difference of terracotta panels.

As a professional manufacturer of terracotta exterior wall panels in China, LOPO fully understands the importance of clay for terracotta panels. To monitor the clay preparation process and make adjustment in a timely manner, LOPO planned an open-air stock yard of 80,000 square meters when it stared planning for plants The stockyard is used for storing 300,000 tons of natural clay. LOPO is also equipped with an indoor system for 12,000 tons of finished clay mud. Meanwhile, with 5 large high-performance Raymond mill, LOPO is able to grind the clay to the desired particle sizes, which guarantees the maximum extent of physical and chemical changes in the process of clay calcination. These facilities give LOPO the maximum control over the quality of clay, which not only ensures the consistency and stability of clay to the most extent, but also enables the clay to sour naturally and thoroughly. As a result, for large-scale terracotta facade panel projects, LOPO obviously has its competitive advantages over most of other manufacturers when it comes to quality, color stability and lead time of terracotta panels.

Terracotta Paver—Beautiful Architectural Decoration Material for the Ground

Terracotta Clay brick paver has been used for paving for a long history, it firstly appeared on the street of Europe since the 19th century. After the development of over 1 hundred years, clay paver has been recognized as the best building material for paving by the architects and designers with below features.

1. High Compressive Strength. With a density of more than 2000 KGS/CBM, the compressive strength is no less than natural stone. Clay pavers of different abrasive resistance grade (A1, A2, A3) can be applied in the different area applied in the different area accordingly (garden, courtyard, gazedo or sidewalk, square, carriageway, parking lot etc.), the destructive load of paving bricks can withstand reaching to T0-T4 grade.

2. Great Freeze-thaw Resistance. It can withstand 150-300 changes of freeze-thaw cycles while the ordinary concrete paving block can be fractured under low temperature.

3. Low Water Absorption (Usually below 6%)

4. Corrosion Resistance (Resistant to low concentrations of acids and alkalis), and non-weathering.

5. Long lasting color. The color of clay paver is controlled by proportion of the clay material, temperature and firing time. The full body of the product is one color. It’s fadeless in different weather conditions.

The excellent characteristics of terracotta floor brick make it the building material which can be used for more than one hundred years. The early clay pavers used on the European streets is still retaining their primitive simplicity and nature after hundred years of vicissitudes. In the design of building and landscape projects, clay paver has been the most important element due to its rich color, various dimensions and laying patterns. Also, it can be harmonious with other building materials when applying in the same area.

LOPO Terracotta is the most professional manufacturer of terracotta products in China. We are capable of producing high quality clay paver with various colors, shapes, dimensions and finishes. LOPO clay paver has natural surface and matte surface(different roughness can be attained according to the requirements of different projects to meet the requirements of slip resistance). The wide range options of color series (including beige, yellow, red, grey, brown and mixed color) can meet the diverse aesthetic requirements of private and public projects. Our standard clay paver thickness include 12mm, 18mm, 28mm, 30mm, 50mm, which have met European standard.

LOPO clay paver can be matched and spliced flexibly in various styles in the practical application, not only can avoid the monotone of the ground, but also can achieve the good visual effect.