Abstract In this paper, the chemical analysis of some local clay samples used for the production of electrical porcelain insulator has been investigated. Test samples were made by varying the quantities of feldspar and silica required to form a mouldable plastic body with each clay sample. The investigation was carried out because some local clay have been confirmed to be poor in the production of electrical porcelain insulators. This investigation confirmed that the clay samples used are good for the production of electrical porcelain insulators with the use of an Atomic Assumption Spectrophotometre. Chemical properties such as bulk density and water absorption were determined for each test sample. Based on the results obtained, the bulk density values recorded range from 1.71g/cm3 to 1.95g/cm3 for Iva Valley formulations, 1.60g/cm3 and 2.00g/cm3 for Nawfija and 1.93g/cm3 to 2.00g/cm3 for Ekwulobia.. Iva Valley formulation recorded water absorption values ranging from 4.52% to 12.15%. For Nawfija formulation, water absorption values range from 5.41% to 10.84% while Ekwulobia formulations gave water absorption values ranging from 4.76% to 8.71%. The samples were found to have requisite properties that make them suitable for domestic production of porcelains insulators that can be compared with the already existing porcelain insulators in Nigeria.
Keywords clay, feldspar, porcelain, silica, translucent, vitrification.