Carty, WilliamShulman, HollyLaCourse, WilliamMartin, Duncan2021-04-072021-04-072019-05http://hdl.handle.net/10829/24445Thesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Ceramic Engineering at the Inamori School of Engineering, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred UniversityIt is widely accepted that ceramic bodies are unaffected by humidity. This study examines the moisture expansion behavior of four ceramic compositions fired to produce a range of porosities. Porisity and flux level were found to the greatest contribution to moisture expansion in porcelain bodies. Samples were evaluated under ambient humidity conditions (50-98% RH for up to 2 years) and in accelerated cyclic autoclave tests (1900 kPa (275psi) for up to 5 hours) with linear expansion measured periodically. Expansion increases linearly with the log of exposure time in all experiments (ambient and autoclave). The results indicate, depending on the time spent in the autoclave, accelerated testing can approximate 1000-10,000 years in ambient conditions.62 pagesen-USHumidityMuseums--Climatic factorsCeramicsThesis