Used in the ceramic tile market as a representative building material, relief ceramic tile is showing increased demand recently. Since ceramic tiles are manufactured through a sintering process at over 1,000 oC after uniaxial compression molding by loading granule powders into a mold, it is very important to secure the flowability of granular powders in a mold having a relief pattern. In this study, kaolin, silica, and feldspar are used as starting materials to prepare granule powders by a spray dryer process; the surface of the granule powders is subject to hydrophobic treatment with various concentrations of stearic acid. The effect on the flowability of the granular powder according to the change of stearic acid concentration is confirmed by measuring the angle of repose, tap density, and compressibility, and the occurrence of cracks in the green body produced in the mold with the relief pattern is observed. Then, the green body is sintered by a fast firing process, and the water absorption, flexural strength, and durability are evaluated. The surface treatment of the granule powders with stearic acid improves the flowability of the granule powders, leading to a dense microstructure of the sintered body. Finally, the hydrophobic treatment of the granule powders makes it possible to manufacture relief ceramic tiles having a flexural strength of 292 N/cm, a water absorption of 0.91 %, and excellent mechanical durability

Abstract
1.서 론
2. 실험방법
3. 결과 및 고찰
4.결 론
References

• 신철(한국세라믹기술원 이천분원) | Cheol Shin (Icheon Branch, Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology)
• 최정훈(한국세라믹기술원 이천분원) | Jung-Hoon Choi (Icheon Branch, Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology)
• 김정헌(한국세라믹기술원 이천분원) | Jung-Hun Kim (Icheon Branch, Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology)
• 황광택(한국세라믹기술원 이천분원) | Kwang-Taek Hwang (Icheon Branch, Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology)
• 김진호(한국세라믹기술원 이천분원) | Jin-Ho Kim (Icheon Branch, Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology) Corresponding author