Building Materials Manufacturing worked example

Drying Shrinkage Window at 3.6% measured drying shrinkage: a worked example

Suppose measured drying shrinkage falls to 3.6%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Check whether measured ceramic, concrete, or clay product drying shrinkage is inside the acceptable process window.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Measured drying shrinkage: 3.6 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 5)
  • Lower acceptable shrinkage limit: 3 % (held at the documented default)
  • Upper acceptable shrinkage limit: 7 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Check whether measured value is between the lower and upper process limits.
  • Drying Shrinkage Window works out to 1 inside at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Drying Shrinkage Window nearest margin works out to 0.6 value at these inputs.
  • Lower acceptable shrinkage limit works out to 3 value at these inputs.
  • Upper acceptable shrinkage limit works out to 7 value at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where measured drying shrinkage sits at 5% and the headline result is 1 inside, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 1 inside.
  • It tests whether a measured drying shrinkage percentage falls inside a defined lower-to-upper spec window and computes the distance to the closest limit. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Drying Shrinkage Window: 1 inside (headline result)
  • Drying Shrinkage Window nearest margin: 0.6 value
  • Lower acceptable shrinkage limit: 3 value
  • Upper acceptable shrinkage limit: 7 value

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Drying Shrinkage Window calculator, set measured drying shrinkage to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.