Ceramic tile grout removal & sealing using high power lasers

Abstract

Work has been conducted using a Nd:YAG laser, a CO2 laser and a high power diode laser (HPDL) in order to determine the feasibility of removing contaminated tile grout from the void between adjoining vitrified ceramic tiles, and to seal the void permanently with a material having an impermeable surface glaze. Reported on in the paper are; the basic process phenomena, the process effectiveness, suitable vitrifiable material development, a heat affect study and a morphological and compositional analysis