The application of chemometrics to cementitious tile adhesive formulations
Chemometrics is the chemical discipline that applies mathematical and statistical methods to optimize experimental designs and to maximize the quality of the information obtainable from chemical data through multivariant statistical analysis. This paper will examine the application of chemometrics to cementitious tile adhesive formulations. The definition of a proper experimental design will be finalized by the implementation of a mathematical model of physical-mechanical behaviour patterns of cementitious tile adhesives, both from the point of view of ISO 13007 testing and from that of their fresh-state properties. Multivariant statistical analysis will also be employed to identify possible correlations between the mechanical and rheological properties of cementitious tile adhesives.
1 Introduction
1.1 Cementitious tile adhesive formulations
Tile adhesive formulations are usually developed as a compromise between many objectives, such as:
1) Fulfilling minimum classification requirements in accordance with certain standards
2) Maximizing a certain subset of performance characteristics
3) Improving certain fresh-state application properties
4) Minimizing formulation costs
Furthermore, the problem of finding the best possible formulation for a certain combination of properties at a given cost is generally subject to some constraints, such as the availability of raw...
