RESISTANCE TO DEEP ABRASION

This is a characteristic that provides information on the degree of internal

cohesion of a material, a characteristic that might also be described as toughness, with
respect to the aggression involved in the application of a revolving disc, under a
constant pressure, on the tile surface for a fixed time while abrasive material is being
fed between the tile surface and the disc.
The length of the track left on the tile after the test is indicative of the greater or
lesser degree of toughness of the test material.
This characteristic is envisaged for all modular rigid materials intended for
flooring. In the case of ceramic tiles, the length of the track left on the tile corresponds
to a volume of removed material expressed in cubic millimetres (mm3), based on a
mathematical formula that calculates this volume.
Vitrified tiles are tougher than porous ones, and pressed tiles are tougher than
extruded ones. Standard EN 14411 establishes a minimum resistance to deep
abrasion for all unglazed tiles (UGL), expressed as the maximum allowable volume
of material removed at the end of the test (in mm3).

Deep abrasion in ISO 10545-6 and the requirements of EN 14411

Standard test method ISO 10545-6 consists of making a groove with a rotating
disc that causes a material loss, which indicates the degree of consistency of the ceramic
body in regard to the cohesion of the particles making up the body.

Test method of resistance to deep abrasion for unglazed tiles

(UGL)

Test assembly for control of deep abrasion according to ISO

10.545-6. Sebastian Carpi ceramic laboratory, Castelln.

Physico-chemical characteristics
Resistance to deep abrasion

The test method relates groove length to the volume of abraded material,
expressed in cubic millimetres (mm3). The more compact is the material, the shorter
will the groove be and, hence, also the smaller the volume of removed material. Thus,
porcelain tiles (BIa) display the shortest groove after testing, while extruded tiles with a
water absorption capacity E>10% (AIII) exhibit the largest loss of material.
The volume of material, in cubic millimetres, removed from a groove made in a
tile with a rotating disc (150 revolutions) and grit feed, is measured. The test method
provides a table of equivalences between the volume of removed material (V) and the
length of the groove (l), based on the formula:

hd

V =
sin
180
8

where:
sin /2 = l/d
d: diameter of the rotating disc (in mm)
h: thickness of the rotating disc (in mm)
l: chord length of the groove (in mm)

Physico-chemical characteristics
Resistance to deep abrasion

Standard EN 14411 establishes maximum values for the volume of removed

material (expressed in mm3) for unglazed tiles of the different product groups, as set out
in the following table.
EN 14411
Maximum volume of
removed material
(in mm3)

PRODUCT GROUPS (UNGLAZED TILES)

AIa, AIb AIIa-1
275

393

AIIa-2

AIIb-1

AIIb-2

AIII BIa, BIb BIIa BIIb BIII

541

649

1062

2365

175

345

540

Resistance to deep abrasion should not be associated with resistance to

impairment of appearance by mechanical aggression without the mediation of other
characteristics. A polished porcelain tile will have optimum resistance (with a minimum
volume of removed material in the test); however, its resistance to impairment of
appearance will not be assured, since the combined action of scratching and surface
abrasion will result in gloss loss and greater stainability in the middle term.
In UGL ceramic tiles, the resistance to impairment of appearance by mechanical
aggression needs to be deduced from the combination of resistance to deep abrasion and
the change in appearance and/or stain resistance after surface abrasion [see section
Selection criteria].

Physico-chemical characteristics
Resistance to deep abrasion