International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Prototypes of an innovative collapsible beehive, built of long-lasting, structural elements of quartz ceramics with high atmospheric resistance and the presence of air cavities with thermal insulation properties, were prepared. Prescription compositions, an original set of molds, and an adequate heat treatment regime applicable to obtain the structural details were developed. The role of the various technological factors in the formation of the performance indicators of the end products was analyzed. The main characteristics of the prepared experimental prototypes and their major functional advantages in comparison with the existing standard and traditional hives were observed. The presented innovative beehive provides a favorable natural habitat for the normal and safe development of bee families and allows the full application of modern approaches for the efficient and ecological production of high-quality natural apian products.

An observation of the current state of the beekeeping industry and the prevailing main problems was carried out. The prospects for increasing the efficiency and functional capabilities of the bee farms were analyzed. According to the long-term research activity, a technological regulation was contrived for producing innovative ceramic hives. The development is superior to the existing standard beehives made of other materials, in terms of complex operational indicators. The phase composition and technical characteristics of obtained samples of marl raw material (from Bulgarian deposits) were investigated, potentially applicable for the production of various
modifications of ceramic collapsible hives.

The results of the plastic forming of ceramic pavers with a large volume and size are observed to produce better compaction of the raw material. The used ceramic mixture is based on a sedimentary rock with relatively high moisture content and firing shrinkage which gives the common yellow colour after a high-temperature liquid phase synthesis. The results of one-fold pressing revealed the occurrence of deformation processes in the drying stage and during the temperature regime. As a consequence, the pressing pressure should be increased and the residual water amount needs to be reduced to an optimal content.

The phase and petrographic analysis of a part of previously prepared test samples of coloured petrographic materials coloured with different contents of CuO, SnO2, CoO, Cr2O3 were studied. The raw materials are based on metamorphic rocks – dolomite marbles from the village of Ustrem and the village of Mramor, processed by melting at 1450°C, so that after crystallization, petrographic phases are obtained, which are confirmed by X-ray phase and petrographic analysis. The main characteristics of the colouring aggregates and their effect on the mineral composition and crystal structure are described.

The research is related to the creation of new compounding formulations for the production of “yellow” paving stones. This was necessary due to denied access to a potential source of suitable raw material from the deposit near the village of Svetlen, Popovo municipality. Marlstone raw material from this deposit has the necessary qualities for such production, as a result of which, after hightemperature liquid-phase synthesis, new petrurgic phases with high physicochemical and mechanical properties can be formed. The new compounding formulation of the molding mass was developed on the basis of marlstone sedimentary rock from the Alexandra deposit, located near the village of Lovets, Targovishte district. The use of this compounding formulation makes it possible to obtain appropriate physicochemical and mechanical properties and a yellow coloring equivalent to that of the reference samples.

Lightweight porous ceramic has a number of advantages over the tightly sintered one depending on the field of application. As a building material with low thermal conductivity and good sound insulation properties, foam ceramic is a suitable material for the production of thermal and sound insulation panels, partition walls, as well as for layers laid under asphalt to protect road and urban square pavements from freezing. As a filling, foamed ceramic materials are also added during the production of lightweight concrete used in construction and architecture and in the manufacture of decorative and non-structural insulation elements. In the present study we consider the characteristics of marl clay, found around the village of Lovets near the town of Shumen, with coal as a foaming additive, and the technological regulation for the manufacture of foam ceramic blocks.

In this publication, the authors present an in-depth justification on the technology for the production of high-oxide ceramics. Indepth research on international markets on the supply and use of raw materials is presented. The various design developments related to the ways of pressing products are described. The physico-mechanical parameters of the synthesized corundum and boron-ceramic ceramics were also studied.

Due to the specifics of marl clays, research to date has shown the need to stabilize these clays with respect to their critical melting point. The research is based on a previous analysis of pure raw material from marl clay, located in the area of the village of Lovets, which is modified by various additives. On the one hand, the modification is used to stabilize the ceramic mass and on the other hand, by adding various agents, the aim is to lighten the composition and obtain the required color pattern. For the purposes of production, the experimental part includes laboratory development of a scale model of yellow paving stone. The development presents the entire process of creating instrumental equipment – model making and matrix construction, and molding of finished products – pressing process for paving stones productionfrom modified marl clay. The technological cycle that can be implemented in the real conditions for yellow paving stones production will rely on the present study.

Due to force majeure circumstances, new researches of marls from the Alexandra deposit to the village of Lovets (Shumen region) were carried out to replace the marls from the village Svetlen (Targovishte region), which are part of a plastic mass for the production of large, fine-ceramic parts (yellow paving stones) from peturgical phases. Marls are characterized in terms of mineral and chemical composition. Their properties, characterizing them as a ceramic raw material, have been determined. Three test masses with a chemical composition similar to the one with the participation of marls from the village of Svetlen were developed. The test specimens are characterized in terms of sintering and strength characteristics. It has been established that the marls can be used to repla ce the marl from the village Svetlen in the composition of the plastic fine-ceramic masses for the production of yellow pavers.

Molding of technical products with fixed thickness by casting quartz ceramics, based on pure quartz glass, requires specific technological regulations both in the preparation of the ceramic mass and in the process of molding itself. Due to the specif ic characteristics of the colloidal system such as low shrinkage and viscosity, casting in molds made only of gypsum is practically unworkable. A solution lies in developing a technology in which the dismantling of the die is supported so that the molded product can be easily removed. Proposed here is a gypsum mold developed in such a way that a silicone insert is mounted where the lower part of the cast product will be. The technological process presented here in detail includes the main stages of preparing a model according to pre-set parameters, making a gypsum mold consisting of two-parts and with a silicone insert, casting and high-temperature synthesis of the finished product made of quartz ceramics. The development is suitable for complex and large-size technical products made not only of quartz ceramics, but also of other silicate colloidal systems characterized by low and almost zero air shrinkage.

Subject of the present paper is the measurement of temperature changes in the ceramic cavity walls of Dadant Blatt beehives. Using a FLIR P640 infrared camera and two different heat sources, 80 thermogramsof ceramic cavity walls were obtained. The infrared images of the studied objects are divided into rectangular zones. The results of the study are presentedtabularly and graphically.

The article presents a study of the sound and thermal insulation properties of ceramic plates with cavities, designed for beehives. The plates are obtained by the “casting” method from a water-dispersed colloidal system based on a patent-protected quartz glass-ceramic. They are composed of amorphous SiO2, mullite and cristobalite. To measure the thermal conductivity, a thermal chamber is constructed with a heater installed in it. Given that the heat flow passing through the three-layer ceramic plate for beehives is constant, the temperature difference between the two opposite sides of the plate at steady state (at constant heat flow) is measured and the thermal conductivity is calculated. A two-chamber method is used to determine the sound insulation capacity of the ceramic plates for beehives. The sound pressure of the sound waves – the incident one and of the wave which has passed through the sample –is measured in the frequency range from 100 to 3150 Hz