Thermal conductivity of insulating firebrick at various temperatures

Thermal conductivity of insulating firebrick at various temperatures

Junjie Chen

Contributor: Junjie Chen, ORCID: 0000-0001-5055-4309, E-mail address: [e-mail], Department of Energy and Power Engineering, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 2000 Century Avenue, Jiaozuo, Henan, 454000, P.R. China

In materials science, a refractory material or refractory is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat, pressure, or chemical attack, and retains strength and form at high temperatures. Refractories are polycrystalline, polyphase, inorganic, non-metallic, porous, and heterogeneous. They are typically composed of oxides or carbides, and nitrides of the following materials: silicon, aluminum, magnesium, calcium, boron, chromium and zirconium. Refractory materials are used in furnaces, kilns, incinerators, and reactors. Refractories are also used to make crucibles and molds for casting glass and metals and for surfacing flame deflector systems for rocket launch structures. Today, the iron-industry and steel-industry and metal casting sectors use approximately 70 percent of all refractories produced. Refractory materials must be chemically and physically stable at high temperatures. Depending on the operating environment, they must be resistant to thermal shock, be chemically inert, and have specific ranges of thermal conductivity and of the coefficient of thermal expansion. The oxides of aluminum, silicon and magnesium are the most important materials used in the manufacturing of refractories. Another oxide usually found in refractories is the oxide of calcium. Fire clays are also widely used in the manufacture of refractories.

Thermodynamic temperature (degrees kelvin), Thermal conductivity (watts per meter-kelvin)

533        0.19

811        0.2

1089             0.23

1366             0.26

533        0.25

811        0.26

1089             0.27

1366             0.3

533        0.29

811        0.32

1089             0.33

1366             0.36

636.2            1.58

843.2            1.55

1036.2          1.53