Abstract: A ceramic porous body including at least Si as a chemical component, the ceramic porous body being obtained by adding a porous silica powder or a porous silica-containing compound powder to a forming raw material to prepare a clay, forming the resulting ceramic clay into a specific shape, and firing the formed product. The ceramic porous body according to the present invention does not produce carbon dioxide or toxic gas during firing and allows the firing time to be reduced in comparison with the case of using a resin powder or a carbon powder as a pore-forming agent by using the porous silica powder or the porous silica-containing compound powder as the pore-forming agent during production. Moreover, a change in pore-forming characteristics or deformation of a formed product rarely occurs.

Abstract: There is provided a method for manufacturing a ceramic honeycomb structure comprising: a coating material adjustment step for obtaining a coating material by mixing at least water with a ceramic powder aggregate having only one peak in a particle size distribution, an average particle size of 23 to 39 ?m, and a particle size distribution width of 15 to 33, a coating material application step for applying the coating material to cover the outer periphery of a honeycomb structure having a plurality of cells separated by porous ceramic partition walls, and a coating material heat-drying step for forming an outer wall by heat-drying the coating material after the coating material application step. By the method, the outer periphery is covered with a coating material to form an outer wall to hardly generate, for example, crack generation and peeling upon drying the outer wall, and the coating material is provided.

Abstract: A process for producing a honeycomb structure by obtaining clay from a cordierite-forming raw material containing an alumina source, a silica source, and a magnesia source; and forming the clay into a honeycomb shape, wherein a material having, in its volume particle size distribution, a 50 volume % particle size (V50) [?m] of 1 to 25 ?m is used, as each of alumina source, silica source, and magnesia source; and a material having, in the volume particle size distribution of the whole cordierite-forming raw material, a ratio of 90 volume % particle size (Vall90) [?m] to 10 volume % particle size (Vall10) [?m] [a volume particle size distribution ratio (Vall90/Vall10)] of 10 or less and a difference (Vall90?Vall10) between 90 volume % particle size (Vall90) [?m] and 10 volume % particle size (Vall10) [?m] of 25 ?m or less is used, as the cordierite-forming raw material.

Abstract: A honeycomb structure 10 of the present invention is provided with porous partition walls 12 made of a ceramic material containing cordierite as a main crystal phase and separating and forming a plurality of cells 14 functioning as fluid passages. The partition walls 12 contain sodium at 0.08 to 0.15 mass % in terms of sodium oxide. A honeycomb structure having a large average pore size can be provided.

Abstract: There is provided a manufacturing method of a honeycomb structure, comprising: forming kneaded clay containing a cordierite forming raw material formed by mixing talc having an average particle diameter of 0.1 to 40 ?m, kaolin having an average particle diameter of 0.1 to 20 ?m, an alumina source raw material having an average particle diameter of 0.05 to 10 ?m, and a silica having an average particle diameter of 0.1 to 20 ?m, a binder, a surface active agent, water, and a hygroscopic resin having an average particle diameter of two to 200 ?m after water absorption and a water absorption magnification of two to 100 magnifications into honeycomb shape to fabricate a honeycomb formed body; and firing the honeycomb formed body to obtain a honeycomb structure whose porosity is less than 40%.

Abstract: There is provided a method for manufacturing a honeycomb structure capable of inhibiting a cut due to drying or firing from generating upon manufacturing a large-sized honeycomb structure. The method for manufacturing a honeycomb structure comprises the steps of: forming kneaded clay containing 3 to 6 parts by mass of a water-absorbent resin having a water-absorption ratio of 10 to 20 times with respect to 100 parts by mass of an oxide ceramic-forming raw material into a honeycomb shape to obtain a honeycomb formed article, drying the honeycomb formed article to obtain a honeycomb dried article, and firing the honeycomb dried article to obtain a honeycomb structure having a volume of 15 to 30 liter and a porosity of 55 to 70%.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a ceramic honeycomb structure includes the steps of: forming the outer periphery of a ceramic structure having a plurality of cells separated by ceramic porous partition walls into a predetermined shape; applying a coating material containing at least a ceramic powder, water, and a high-boiling additive having a higher boiling point than that of water on an outer periphery of the cell structure 2 so as to cover the outer periphery; and drying the coating material by heating to form an outer wall 3. The method provides a method for manufacturing a honeycomb structure having the outer wall formed by covering the outer periphery with a coating material and hardly having a crack and a defect such as peeling and a coating material.

Abstract: There is provided a plugged honeycomb structure 1 including: partition walls 2 disposed so as to form a plurality of cells 3 extending from one end face 42 to the other end face 44 in the axial direction, and plugged portions 4 disposed so as to plug the cells 3 at one of the end faces, and a production method thereof. In this honeycomb structure 1, the plugged portions 4 and partition walls surrounding the plugged portions are unitarily formed. The production method includes a forming step, a plugging step for filling a plugging material, and a firing step. The plugging material contains solid particles capable of unitarily joining with at least one kind of solid particles contained in a forming raw material in a firing step. A ratio of a dimensional change (%) upon forming the partition walls out of the partition wall-forming material to a dimensional change (%) upon forming the plugged portions out of the plugging material is controlled to be within the range of 0.7% to 1.3 in the firing step.

Abstract: A process for producing a honeycomb structure includes: a mixing step where forming raw materials including a ceramic raw material are mixed to obtain a forming blended material, a kneading step where the forming blended material is kneaded to obtain kneaded clay, a forming step where the kneaded clay is formed into a honeycomb shape to obtain a honeycomb formed article, and a firing step where the honeycomb formed article is fired to obtain a honeycomb structure. The ceramic raw material is a cordierite forming raw material, and a magnetic powder contained in the kneaded clay is at a ratio of 400 ppm or less with respect to solid content conversion mass of the whole kneaded clay. There is provided a honeycomb structure capable of improving trapping efficiency, in particular, initial trapping efficiency by reducing the number of coarse pores in the partition walls.

Abstract: There is provided a method for manufacturing a silicon carbide based honeycomb structure, the method using, as a part of a starting material, a recycled raw material recycled from a recovered material generated in a process for manufacturing the silicon carbide based honeycomb structure and derived from a starting material for a silicon carbide based honeycomb structure; wherein the recycled raw material is pulverized to have an average particle size of 10 to 300 ?m. According to the present invention, structure defects such as voids or coarse particles, which have been problems upon manufacturing a silicon carbide based honeycomb structure, are hardly formed, and a silicon carbide based honeycomb structure having excellent strength and uniform heat conductivity can be obtained. In addition, since a once kneaded material is used as a part of a starting material, the time for kneading can be shortened.

Abstract: There is disclosed a honeycomb structure having excellent thermal shock resistance. The honeycomb structure contains cordierite as a main component, and has an average pore diameter of 4 ?m or more and 10 ?m or less, a total pore volume of 0.18 cm3/g or more and 0.22 cm3/g or less, and Young's modulus of 4 GPa or more and 6 GPa or less.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a porous ceramic structure which comprises: mixing a ceramic material, a foamed resin and, if necessary, a forming auxiliary; forming the mixture; and then firing the thus formed body, wherein: a resin of an outer shell of the foamed resin is constituted of a copolymer containing 60 wt % or more of acrylonitrile and 40 wt % or less of methyl methacrylate.

Abstract: A process for producing a honeycomb structure by obtaining clay from a cordierite-forming raw material containing an alumina source, a silica source, and a magnesia source; and forming the clay into a honeycomb shape, wherein a material having, in its volume particle size distribution, a 50 volume % particle size (V50) [?m] of 1 to 25 ?m is used, as each of alumina source, silica source, and magnesia source; and a material having, in the volume particle size distribution of the whole cordierite-forming raw material, a ratio of 90 volume % particle size (Vall90) [?m] to 10 volume % particle size (Vall10) [?m] [a volume particle size distribution ratio (Vall90/Vall10)] of 10 or less and a difference (Vall90?Vall10) between 90 volume % particle size (Vall90) [?m] and 10 volume % particle size (Vall10) [?m] of 25 ?m or less is used, as the cordierite-forming raw material.

Abstract: There is disclosed a ceramic structure which comprises a material having a controlled pore distribution and including cordierite as the main crystal phase. In the pore distribution, the volume of pores having pore diameters smaller than 20 ?m accounts for 15% or less of the total pore volume, and the volume of pores having pore diameters of 20 to 100 ?m accounts for 70% or more of the total pore volume. This ceramic structure is suitable for realizing a ceramic catalyst body which has excellent purification efficiency, is reduced in pressure loss, and is mountable even in a limited space.

Abstract: There is provided a method for manufacturing a porous ceramic structure, including: firing a formed body containing ceramic particles and a combustible powder functioning as a pore former, and burning off the combustible powder to obtain the porous ceramic structure. The combustible powder has an exothermic rate of 0 to 35 ?V·min./mg, which is obtained from a differential thermal analysis. The method for manufacturing a porous ceramic structure can inhibit a crack from being generated during firing even without slowing down the temperature rise rate at the combustion range of the pore former or without lowering an oxygen content in the firing atmosphere.

Abstract: There is provided a method for manufacturing a porous ceramic structure, including: firing a formed body containing ceramic particles and a combustible powder functioning as a pore former, and burning off the combustible powder to obtain the porous ceramic structure. As the combustible powder, porous resin particles having an average particle diameter of 10 to 50 ?m and a porosity of 50 to 90% are used. The method for manufacturing a porous ceramic structure can inhibit the combustible powder functioning as a pore former from being smashed upon mixing/kneading a forming raw material and suppressing an excess heat generation upon firing and can manufacture a porous ceramic structure having a stable porosity with a good yield.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a porous ceramic structure which can produce a high porosity ceramic structure as well as a low porosity ceramic structure without causing cracks at the time of firing. A method for manufacturing a porous ceramic structure comprising molding a raw material which contains a ceramic material as a main component and a pore-forming agent and then drying and firing the obtained molded article. When the molded article is fired, the temperature of a firing environment is raised substantially in synchronization with the temperature of the central portion of the molded article within a temperature range in which at least a portion of the molded article is shrunk by firing.

Abstract: An electric control device 70 is applied to an internal combustion engine 10 capable of a pre-mixed charge compression ignition combustion in which air-fuel mixture gas including air and fuel injected from an injector 37 is formed in a combustion chamber 25, and the air-fuel mixture gas is self-ignited to be combusted by compressing the air-fuel mixture gas during a compression stroke. The electric control device injects high pressure fluid such as air from the air injection valve 38 into the air-fuel mixture gas at a predetermined acting timing within a compression stroke prior to fuel pyrolysis starting timing to enhance the temperature un-uniformity of the air-fuel mixture gas. This enables the temperature un-uniformity of the air-fuel mixture gas at the fuel pyrolysis starting timing to become larger than the temperature un-uniformity of the air-fuel mixture gas at the fuel pyrolysis starting timing obtained only by simply compressing the air-fuel mixture gas during the compression stroke.

Abstract: In a hepatic disease-evaluating apparatus, an indicator calculating unit calculates an index indicating the degree of hepatic fibrosis from amino acid concentration data to be evaluated including amino acid concentration value, based on one or more indices of fractional expression having amino acid concentration as variable. A disease state evaluating unit evaluates the disease state of the hepatic disease to be evaluated, based on the index value.

Abstract: A biological state-evaluating apparatus evaluates the biological state to be evaluated, based on generated evaluation function and the previously acquired metabolite concentration data to be evaluated. In the apparatus, a candidate evaluation function-generating unit generates a candidate evaluation function that is a candidate of the evaluation function from the biological state information according to a particular function-generating method. A candidate evaluation function-verifying unit verifies the candidate evaluation function prepared according to a particular verification method. A variable-selecting unit selects the combination of the metabolite concentration data contained in the biological state information to be used in preparing the candidate evaluation function by selecting a variable of the candidate evaluation function from the verification results according to a particular variable selection method.