New advances in the laboratory characterization of refractories: testing and modelling

Abstract

Abstract. This publication presents new advances in the field of refractories characterization. These laboratory methods that combine experiments and numerical analyses and concern both the thermomechanical and thermochemical behaviour are illustrated through different examples: identification of asymmetrical creep, determination of elastic and inelastic properties, measurements of macroscopic deformation, phase transformations or corrosion kinetics. These advanced techniques offer the refractory community new opportunities to improve the knowledge and the prediction of the phenomena of degradation of the refractories.

Cohesive properties of refractory castable at 600 °C: Effect of sintering and testing temperature

“…Moreover, these parameters are commonly used to make project decisions, recently being coupled with numerical simulations to better predict in-service reliability. Therefore, the success in the project is directly related to the knowledge of the parameters, which should be as representative as possible of in-service conditions [2] as they may considerably change with temperature variations or other external variables.…”

On the effect of sintering temperature on the fracture energy of an Alumina-Mullite-Zirconia castable at 600 °C

“…For trustworthy identification, it is important that the experiments be performed as closest to the application condition as possible, especially in similar temperature ranges [12]. However, thermomechanical experiments can be laborious, expensive and exhibit several challenges related to thermal insulation, loading setup and extensometry.…”

Fracture energy evaluation of refractories in wedge splitting tests from notch opening displacements

“…CMODs are usually measured with extensometers or clip gauges [5]. However, optical methods can also be used [8]. Among them, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) [9] has been utilized in WSTs to measure CMODs [7,[10][11][12] by considering two interrogation windows on either side of the top part of the sample (Figure 1(a)).…”