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 Introduction

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 ?What is a furnace

• A furnace is an equipment used to melt

metals for casting or to heat materials to
change their shape (e.g. rolling,
forging) or properties (heat treatment).

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 Furnace classification

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 All furnaces have the following
components

􀂃 Refractory chamber constructed of insulating materials to retain heat

at high operating temperatures.
􀂃 Hearth to support or carry the steel, which consists of refractory
materials supported by a steel structure, part of which is water-cooled.
􀂃 Burners that use liquid or gaseous fuels to raise and maintain the
temperature in the chamber. Coal or electricity can be used in reheating
furnaces.
􀂃 Chimney to remove combustion exhaust gases from the chamber
􀂃 Charging and discharging doors through which the chamber is
loaded and unloaded. Loading and unloading equipment include roller
tables, conveyors, charging machines and furnace pushers.

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 Refractories
• Definition
• Classifications
• Properties
• Phase diagrams
• Performance
• Insulation
• Maintenance
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 What is refractories
– Any material can be described as a
‘refractory,’ if it can withstand the action of
abrasive or corrosive solids, liquids or
gases at high temperatures. The various
combinations of operating conditions in
which refractories are used, make it
necessary to manufacture a range of
refractory materials with different
properties. Refractory materials are made
in varying combinations and shapes
depending on their applications.
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 Refratory Definition

Refracttories are materials with

high strength, mechanical
stability, and chemical
inertness at temperatures of
the order of 1400 °C.

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 Refractory
Classifications
1. Melting point classification
2. Chemical composition classification
3. Depending on behavior toward
metallurgical slag.
4. End use
5. Method of manufacture
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 Melting point classification
• Low melting point refractories
< 1000 °C
• High melting point refractories
>1000 - 1900 °C <
• Super refractories
> 1900 °C
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 Melting point of some
refractory metals
• Tungsten 3400°C
• Molybdenum

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 Chemical composition
classification
• Oxide refractories include materials
such as Silica, alumina, magnisite,
chromite….
• Nonoxide refractories include
materials such as carbides, nitrides
and borides.
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 Depending on behavior toward
:metallurgical slag

• Acid refractories
• Basic refractories
• Neutral refractories
• Special refractories
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 Acid refractorties
Asid refractories are based mainly
on it's Silica content (SiO2):
• Silica
• Fireclay series with 30-42% Al2O3
• Sillimanite and
• Andalusite with about 60% Al2O3

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 Basic refractories
Basic refractories are based
mainly on it's Magnesium oxide
content (MgO):
• Magnesite
• Dolomite
• Chrome- Magnesite
• Magnesite- Chrome
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 Neutral refractories
Neutral refractories are inert to
both Siliceous and limy slag
• Carbon
• Chromite (FeO.Cr2O3)
• Foresterite (2MgO.SiO2)

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 Special refractories
Very expensive refractories such
as:
• ZrO2
• BeO
Used in atomic energy, gas
turbine engine
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 End use

• Blast furnace casting pit

• Open-hearth
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 Method of manufacture

• Dry press process, fused cast, hand

moulded, formed normal, fired or
chemically bonded, unformed
(monolithics, plastics, ramming
mass, gunning castable, spraying)

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 Properties and
testing

•Requirements
•Testing and
•inspections
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 Requirements
• Withstand high temperatures
• Withstand sudden changes of temp.
• Withstand action of molten metal slag, hot
gases, etc.
• Withstand load at service conditions.
• Withstand load and abrasion forces
• Conserve heat
• Have low coefficient of thermal expansion.
• Not contaminate the product.
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 Properties
•Melting point:
•Size:
•Bulk density:
•Porosity:
•Cold crushing strength:
•Pyrometric cones and Pyrometric cones equivalent (PCE):
•Creep at high temperature:
•Volume stability, expansion, and shrinkage at high temperatures:

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 :Melting point
Most refractory materials consist of
particles bonded together. At high
temperatures, these particles melt and
form slag.
The melting point of the refractory is the
temperature at which a test pyramid
(cone) fails to support its own weight.
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 :Pyrometric cones
The ‘refractoriness’ of (refractory) bricks is the
temperature at which the refractory bends
because it can no longer support its own
weight.
Pyrometric cones are used in ceramic
industries to test the refractoriness of the
(refractory) bricks. They consist of a mixture
of oxides that are known to melt at a specific
narrow temperature range.
This is the temperature range in oC above
which the refractory cannot be used.
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 :Melting point

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 :Bulk density
The bulk density is useful property of
refractories, which is the amount of
refractory material within a volume
(kg/m3).
An increase in bulk density of a given
refractory increases its volume
stability, heat capacity and resistance
to slag penetration.

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 :Porosity
The apparent porosity is the volume of
the open pores, into which a liquid can
penetrate, as a percentage of the total
volume of the refractory.
This property is important when the
refractory is in contact with molten
charge and slag.
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 :Cold crushing strength
The cold crushing strength is the
resistance of the refractory to crushing,
which mostly happens during
transport. It only has an indirect
relevance to refractory performance,
and is used as one of the indicators of
abrasion resistance. Other indicators
used are bulk density and porosity.

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 :Creep at high temperature
• Creep is a time dependent property,
which determines the deformation in a
given time and at a given temperature
by a refractory material under stress.

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Volume stability, expansion, and
:shrinkage at high temperatures
• The contraction or expansion of the
refractories can take place during service
life. Such permanent changes in dimensions
may be due to:
• The changes in the allotropic forms, which
cause a change in specific gravity
• A chemical reaction, which produces a new
material of altered specific gravity
• The formation of liquid phase Sintering
reactions

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 Reversible thermal
:expansion
Any material expands when heated, and
contracts when cooled.
The reversible thermal expansion is a
reflection on the phase transformations
that occur during heating and cooling.

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:Thermal conductivity
Thermal conductivity depends on the chemical
and mineralogical composition and silica
content of the refractory and on the
application temperature.
The conductivity usually changes with rising
temperature. High thermal conductivity of a
refractory is desirable when heat transfer
though brickwork is required, for example in
recuperators, regenerators, muffles, etc.

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:Thermal conductivity
Low thermal conductivity is desirable for conservation
of heat, as the refractory acts as an insulator.
Additional insulation conserves heat but at the same
time increases the hot face temperature and hence a
better quality refractory is required. Because of this,
the outside roofs of open-hearth furnaces are
normally not insulated, as this could cause the roof
to collapse.
Lightweight refractories of low thermal conductivity
find wider applications in low temperature heat
treatment furnaces, for example in batch type
furnaces where the low heat capacity of the
refractory structure minimizes the heat stored during
the intermittent heating and cooling cycles.

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 Testing
1. Visual examination
2. Dimensional accuracy
3. After expansion (or contraction)
4. Reversible thermal expansion
5. Refractoriness
6. Cold strength
7. Hot strength

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 Testing
1. Long term creep testing
2. Thermal shock resistance by a Spalling
Test
3. Slag resistance
4. True porosity
5. Real, and Apparent density
6. Permeability

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 Testing
7. Thermal conductivity
8. Chemical analysis
9. Petrography (microstructure)
10 X-ray diffraction

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