Use classification and division to develop material by relating parts to wholes. In classification, you associate similar things or processes by grouping them into classes. You can classify organisms, mechanisms, processes according to shapes, magnitudes, effects, and so on. In division, you develop a topic by breaking it down into smaller parts. Classification is the tutorial prose strategy. It is an effective approach for showing the terrain of a subject by elaborating upon its essential types. In the following example, corrosion-resistant ceramics are broken down into types.
Acid Service: Choice of Materials
Careful design and selection of corrosion-resistant ceramics by process engineers and designers is
necessary for long-lasting, reliable, and cost-effective ceramic linings for process equipment. The
following types of ceramics are used for acid service.
Red shale acid brick. These bricks are manufactured from iron-bearing sedimentary
clays prepared with low-melting additives. The clay mixture is extruded through a die and then wire-cut into individual bricks. The units are fired to form a bond of melted material between the clay
particles. . . .
Stoneware and porcelain. A vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware, stoneware is made
with a fine texture, low-melting-point fireclay. The uniform, chemically resistant microstructure of
a stoneware part offers chemical resistance throughout its service lifetime. Stoneware is used in
distributors, packing supports, and . . .
Glazed ceramic tile. Industrial glazed ceramic tile units are made of fireclays with an
iron oxide content of less than 2%. The clays are processed and then extruded into various shapes.
The shaped parts are coated on the process side before firing with a glass-forming glaze solution.
Then the tile is fired, the clay body . . .
--Adapted from K. Brooks and M. W. Martin, "Ceramics Stand Up to Acid Service," Chemical Engineering
