The main material of ceramics is clay, kaolin and similar materials. These substances are generally formed by weathering of rocks under wind conditions such as wind, rain, snow and ice. After shaping these materials, ceramic is obtained by cooking in high temperature ovens. Ceramic is theoretically an inorganic compound obtained by combining one or more metals with non-metallic elements.

Ceramics are generally known to humans as a terracotta-based building material. For example, building materials such as brick, tile, glass, concrete and porcelain are included in the ceramic group.

In particular, clay is a building material that is not easily deformed after certain processes are applied, hard and does not deteriorate quickly against external factors. In the production of ceramics, some ingredients are added to the clay dough and shaped and fired by a suitable cooking method. Essentially, the ceramic pulp contains silicates, aluminates, water, some metal oxides and alkali and alkaline earth compounds.

The melting temperature of the ceramic, which is very hard and brittle, is 1750 in silicas and 2050 in aluminates. The heat and electrical insulation of the ceramic is very high and it is widely used in electrical materials.

Ceramics used in the building sector are basically two groups as coarse and fine ceramics. Rough ceramics are bricks and tiles, carrier flooring materials, different coating materials, decorative materials and similar terracotta materials. Refractory materials are also included in this group. The group of fine ceramics includes ceramics used for finer works such as tiles, tile and sanitary tiles, tinned tiles, mosaic tiles, plaque tiles and porcelain.

Ceramic materials are generally glazed. Glaze, ceramic materials are formed directly at high temperature glassing itself. Sometimes metal oxides are applied to the ceramic material and the ceramic material is glassed at a temperature lower than the degree of firing. With this glaze layer, different properties are given to the ceramic material. The main metal oxides used for this process are silicon, aluminum, calcium sodium and tin oxides.

The glazing of ceramic materials is generally made to ensure that a water-permeable ceramic material is waterproof, to give color to the ceramic material, or to prevent dirt retention and easy cleaning.

Like all materials used in the construction sector, ceramics are tested by authorized testing and inspection organizations in accordance with the relevant legal regulations and standards published by domestic and foreign organizations. Here are a few standards that are based on these tests:

• TS EN 623-2 Advanced technology ceramics - Monolithic ceramics - General and textural properties - Part 2: Determination of density and porosity
• TS EN 820-2 Advanced technology ceramics - Monolithic ceramics - Test methods - Thermomechanical properties - Part 2: Determination of deformation caused by its own weight
• TS EN ISO 15732 Advanced technology ceramics - Determination of fracture strength of monolithic ceramics at room temperature by single edge pre-fracture beam method (sepb)
• TS EN 12788 Advanced technology ceramics - Ceramic composites - Mechanical properties in high temperature and inert atmosphere - Determination of flexural strength