Development of a simulation procedure for the evaluation of new refractories for aluminium furnaces

Abstract

Refractory materials for aluminium industry are designed to be resistant to different degrees of thermal, mechanical and chemical wear. The refractory wall thickness reduction during service life increases the heat losses through walls decreasing the thermal efficiency of the furnace. Last developments are focused on obtaining refractories with better performance and improved insulation properties. On this regard, a simulation procedure has been developed to compare the thermal and chemical performance of different refractories during end use. This procedure includes measuring the internal and external wall temperatures of a testing furnace using thermography, and comparing the resistance to liquid aluminium determining the corundum and cracks appearance. Two refractories have been tested by this procedure for comparative purposes; a commercial alumina castable and an improved alumina castable with better insulation properties.