Studies on mechanical properties of refractories at high temperatures

Refractory materials used as structural components in high temperature industrial furnaces are subjected to severe external and internal stresses during service. As such their high temperature mechanical properties, particularly their ability to withstand loads at high temperatures, are important factors in determining their choice and applications. An understanding of the mechanical properties and behaviour of refractories at high temperatures is highly important and work thereon has lead to the development of improved refractories, such as direct bonded basic brick successfully used in open hearth furnace roofs. There is comparatively little work done in India on this subject. Keeping in view the importance of the subject, work was taken up at the National Metallurgical Laboratory on correlation of high temperature mechanical properties of some basic refractories with their constitution and structure. An apparatus for study of creep in refractories under torsion has been designed and fabricated at the National Metallurgical Laboratory. Studies on the subject employing this apparatus, possibly the first of its kind in this country, will throw useful light on the nature and behaviour of Indian refractory materials at high service temperatures. (Mr. T.V. Prasad, Scientist, National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur)