REFRACTORIES

 Refractory is any material that can withstand

high temperature, without softening or suffering
a deformation in shape.
 These are the essential material of construction
in metallurgy, engineering, chemical industries
and without their use, it is impossible to maintain
required temperature.
Objectives
 To confine heat (resist loss of heat)
 to resist corrosive action of molten models

DR. E. LAXMINARAYANA
 REFRACTORIES

Characteristics
 Should be infusible
 Chemically inert,
 Withstand load of structure
 No crack and suffer loss in size
 Expand and contract uniformly
Classification
On basis of the chemical properties refractories
are classified into three types.

DR. E. LAXMINARAYANA
 REFRACTORIES

REFRACTORIES

ACIDIC BASIC NEUTRAL

DR. E. LAXMINARAYANA
 REFRACTORIES

1. Acid refractories:
 Refractories which consist of acidic material like (Al2O3) and
silica(SiO2).
 These are not attacked by acidic material but easily attacked by
basic material.
2. Basic refractories:
 Refractories which consist of basic material like CaO, Mgo etc.
 These are not attacked by basic material but easily attached by
acids.
3. Nautral refractories
 These are made from weakly acid or basic material like ‘C’, cromite
(Feo, cro2), zirconia (ZrO2), sic carborundum) etc.

DR. E. LAXMINARAYANA
 REFRACTORIES

PROPERTIES OF REFRACTOREIS
1. Refractoriness:
 It is the ability of a material to withstand the heat, without
appreciable deformation or softening.
 It is measured as softening or melting temperature of material.
 As the refractories are mixture of several metallic oxides, they have
sharp fusion temperature.
 Softening temperature generally determined by pyrometric cones or
seger cones.
 There have softening temperature much higher than the operating
temperature.
 Pyrometric cones are pyramid in shape and melt at definite
temperature, when heated understand conditions of 100C per min.

DR. E. LAXMINARAYANA
 REFRACTORIES
2. Strength or Refractorines-under-load (R.U.L):
 Refratory material must possesses high mechanical
strengths, even at operating temperature to bear the
maximum possible load without breaking.
 Refractories like, fire clay, alumina-bricks soften gradually
over a range of temperature.
 But, silica, soften over a relatively narrow range of
temperature and except good load-bearing characteristics.
 R.U.L test is performed by applying a constant load (3.5 or
1.75kg cm-2) to the refractory specimen and heating a ‘C’
resistance furnace at standard rate (100 / min)

DR. E. LAXMINARAYANA
 REFRACTORIES
3. Dimensional stability:
 It is the resistance of material to any volume changes,
which may occur to its exposure to high temperature, over
a prolongated time.
 These dimensional changes may be permanent or
reversible.
 Irreversible changes may result either contraction or
expansion of refractory.
4. Chemical inertness:
 A refractory should be selected that is chemically inactive
in use and does not easily form fusible products with slags,
fuel ashes, furnace gases etc.
 An acid refractory is employed in contact with alkaline
products or vice-versa.
DR. E. LAXMINARAYANA