Influence of sintering temperature on thermal shock behavior of low cement high alumina refractory concrete

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate behavior and degradation level of refractory concrete sintered at different temperatures during the thermal stability testing. Alumina based low cement castable was synthesized, cured, and then sintered at 1100, 1300, and 1600 °C with dwell time of 3 h. Prepared samples were subjected to the water quench test. Behavior of the refractory concrete and determination of surface and internal degradation level during the testing were monitored by ultrasonic measurements and image analysis. Overall material degradation was determined by measuring the strength degradation of samples using the standard laboratory procedure. The samples sintered at 1300 °C showed the best behavior under thermal shock, since they withstood 110 cycles of water quench without breaking. It was evident that during the thermal shock, surface and interior of the samples sintered at 1600 °C behave differently compared with those sintered at 1100 and 1300 °C.