ABSTRACT

A refractory brick or fire brick is a block of refractory ceramic material used in

lining furnaces, kilns, fire boxes and fire places.
A refractory brick is built primarily to withstand high heat but should also
usually have a low thermal conductivity to save energy. Usually dense fire bricks are
used in the application with extreme mechanical, chemical or thermal stresses, such as
the inside of a wood fired kiln or a furnace which is subjected to abrasion from wood,
fluxing from ash or slag and high temperatures, in other less harsh situation such as a
natural gas fire kiln, more porous bricks are a better choice. They are weaker, but they
are much lighter, easier to form and insulate far better than dense bricks. In any case,
fire brick should not spall under rapid temperature change and their strength should
hold up well during rapid temperature changes.
Refractories are sold in the form of fire bricks, silica, magnesite, chromite
bricks, silicon carbide and zirconia refractories.
This paper deals on the classification, properties, process of manufacturing,
their applications and also about other special refractory bricks.

CONTENTS

Introduction to Refractory Bricks

History

Classification of Refractories
Chemical Classification.
3
Classification Based On Refractoriness.
4
Classification Based On Resistance To Temperature.
5
Properties of Refractories

Manufacturing Process

Some Special Refractory Bricks

Fire Clay Bricks
12
Varieties Of Fire Clay Bricks
14
High Alumina Bricks
15
Silica Bricks
16
Magnesite Bricks
17
Forsterite Bricks
17
Dolomite Bricks
18

 Chromite Bricks
18
Conclusion

REFRACTORY BRICKS

INTRODUCTION:

A fire brick or refractory brick is a block of refractory ceramic material used in

lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces.
A refractory brick is built primarily to withstand high heat, but should also
usually have a low thermal conductivity to save energy. Usually dense firebricks are
used in applications with extreme mechanical, chemical, or thermal stresses, such as
the inside of a wood-fired kiln or a furnace, which is subject to abrasion from wood,
fluxing from ash or slag, and high temperatures. In other, less harsh situations, such as
a natural gas fired kiln, more porous bricks are a better choice. They are weaker, but
they are much lighter, easier to form, and insulate far better than dense bricks. In any
case, firebricks should not spall under rapid temperature change, and their strength
should hold up well during rapid temperature changes.
To make firebrick, fireclay is baked in the kiln until it is partly vitrified, and for
special purposes may also be glazed. Fire-bricks usually contain 30-40% aluminium
oxide or alumina and 50% silicon dioxide or silica. They can also be made of
chamotte and other materials. For bricks of extreme refractory character, the
aluminium oxide content can be as high as 50-80% (with correspondingly less silica),
and silicon carbide may also be present. The standard size of fire-brick is 9 x 4.5 x 2.5
in. (228 mm x 115 mm x 64 mm).
The silica firebricks that line steel-making furnaces are used at temperatures up to
1650C (3000F), which would melt many other types of ceramic, and in fact part of
the silica firebrick liquefies. HRSI, a material with the same composition, is used to
make the insulating tiles of the space shuttle.
A range of other materials find use as firebricks for lower temperature
applications. Magnesium oxide is often used as a lining for furnaces.

FIRE BRICK

HISTORY:
The first application of silica "tiles" within ceramic brick kilns or furnaces is
credited to William Harry of the Swansea Valley, Glamorganshire, Wales in 1817.
Harry's invention served to vitrify the interior surface of ceramic brick built blast
furnace. In 1820 however Quaker entrepreneur William Weston Young began
experimenting with silica clay recipes, at his pottery in Nantgarw, also in
Glamorganshire, for the creation of a robust, heat-proof brick from which a whole
blast furnace could durably be made.
In 1822, Young, with three further investors, including David Morgan, John Player
and (Young's brother) Joseph Young established The Dinas Firebrick Co. in the Vale
of Neath, Glamorganshire, Wales and the first batches of firebricks began to be
exported for the construction of blast furnaces across the industrialized world.
The Welsh word "Dinas," a reference to the hill where the silica was quarried in
the upper Neath Valley, (Craig-y-Dinas, at Pontneddfechan) is synonymous with the

word firebrick in many foreign languages as a result of the extensive influence of this
industry in South Wales.
Silica bricks were also manufactured in the upper Swansea Valley by the
Penwyllt Dinas Silica Brick Co.

CLASSIFICATION OF REFRACTORIES:

1. CHEMICAL CLASSIFICATION:
Chemically, refractories can be classified into the following three types.
i. Acidic RefractoriesThose which are made of clay, clay silica mixtures and of pure silica. Clay is
generally used in the form of fire clay and silica in the form of flint, quartz, sandstone,
gannister etc. Fire clay refractories, chief constituent of which is silicate mineral,
koalinite, Al2O3 2SiO2. 2H2O have widely been used. Silica refractories rank next to
fire clay refractories and are generally produced from quartzite and quartz pebbles
which are almost pure form of silica SiO2.Blue bricks, sand line bricks, cement sand
bricks, glass bricks are acid bricks.
ii. Basic RefractoriesThose which contain a large proportion of lime or magnesia or a mixture of these
bases or other metal oxides. Examples are magnesite bricks, bauxite bricks, dolomite
bricks etc.
iii. Neutral RefractoriesNeutral refractories are those formed of certain alumina silicates which contain
more alumina than pure clay. Examples are chromite bricks, silicon carbide, graphite
6

bricks etc.
Some single oxide bricks have also been developed in recent years. They are self
bonded and have high fusion points. For example, alumina (2050C), magnesia
(2250C), zirconia (2200C) etc.

2. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON REFRACTORINESS:

Specially fire clay bricks are also classified according to their alumina contents
and refractoriness. It should be noted that refractories strictly include all materials of
pyrometric cone equivalent (PCE) greater than cone 26. PCE is a measure of
refractoriness of raw ceramic materials, mixtures or products. It is usually calculated
by comparison with mixture of known properties, i.e, pyrometric cones, which are
heat work recorders.
Refractories can be classified into four types on the basis of refractoriness.
PCE No.

Classes of Refractoriness.

1. Cones of PCE 26-28

Moderate heat duty

2. Cones of PCE 28-31

Intermediate heat duty

3. Cones of PCE 31-33

High duty

4. Cones of PCE 33-34

Super duty

Refractoriness is the capacity of a material to withstand the heat without

appreciable deformation or softening under particular service conditions and is
measured generally as the softening or the melting temperature of the material. It
should be noted that refractory materials generally do not have sharp fusion
temperatures, because of the fact that they are mixtures of various metallic oxides and
other substances. It is, therefore, common practice to determine softening
temperature, rather than fusion.

3. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON RESISTANCE TO TEMPERATURE:

The refractory materials are divided into the following two categories as per their
capacity to resist temperature.
i. Low quality refractory materials.
ii. High quality refractory materials.
The low quality refractory materials are used in the manufacture of fire bricks, as
lining material for furnaces, etc. The melting point of such materials is more than
1580C.
The high quality refractory materials are stable even at high temperature and they
are used in the construction of modern aeroplanes such as rockets, jets, etc. These
materials are composed of either pure clay or metals or combinations of clay and
metals.
The high quality refractory materials containing pure clay are pure oxides of
alumina, magnesia etc or nitrides or carbides. Those metals which melt at a
temperature of about 1600C can be used as the metal refractories. Such metals are
molybednum, tungsten, zirconium, etc. These materials and their alloys are used as
the refractory materials.

PROPERTIES OF REFRACTORIES:
1. Fusion PointSince a large number of metallurgical and other operations are performed in
industries at very high temperatures using refractories, the refractories must be able to
withstand high temperatures and must remain unaffected at the temperature of the
chemical process being carried out. Fusion point, which is the temperature at which

the refractory starts to soften, is an index of its suitability for a particular process at a
given temperature, and determines the temperature upto which a particular refractory
can be used.
2. Chemical PropertiesSince refractories are acidic, basic and neutral, it is extremely important to select
appropriate refractories to withstand the chemical action of slags, fuel ashes, furnace
gases as well as products such as glass or steel. An acidic brick should not be used in
contact with an alkaline product or vice versa. Chemical interaction of a refractory
with its environment is a very important factor contributing to its slow withering away
on continuous use.
The rate of decay of the refractory depends mainly upon the following important
factors(a) Composition of the environment such as nature of slags, fuel ashes, furnace
gases etc, which react with the refractories.
(b) Temperature of the material which is in contact with the refractory.
(c) The intensity of the environmental turbulance.
3. PorosityPorosity is directly related to many other physical properties of brick, including
resistance to chemical attack. Greater the porosity of the brick, more easily it is
penetrated by molten fluxes and gases. For a given class of brick, the one with the
lowest porosity has the greatest strength, thermal conductivity and heat capacity.
Hence porosity of a refractory is the deciding factor of the degree of penetration by
molten fluxes and gases and brings about disintegration. So, greater the porosity,
greater is the susceptibility of the refractory to chemical attack by molten flux based
gases.

4. Spalling-

Refractories should be able to withstand spalling, e.g. cracking and flaking of the
bricks due to uneven expansion or contraction.
Spalling is thus the fracture on flaking off a refractory because of uneven
expansion of a refractory due to heat. Refractories which expand unevenly by heating
usually undergo flaking or disintegration, when they are subjected to rapid heating or
rapid cooling.
Spalling may be due to- (1) Thermal agitation
(2) Mechanical causes
(3) Structural factors etc.
Thermal agitation are caused by rapid volume changes due to wide temperature
fluctuations taking place rapidly. Mechanical causes, such as careless removal of slag
and clinkers from the surface of refractories are also responsible for spalling. This
damage by spalling can be reduced or minimised by decreasing the temperature
gradient through suitable insulation. Spalling is also caused by structural factors
creating zones of different strengths and expansion coefficients. These factors are
generally created through creation of different crystallographic forms at different
temperatures in reversible manner, and creating zones of different composition and
properties as a result of reaction of refractories with fluxes and slags.
5. StrengthRefractories must also be able to withstand abrasion or erosion of the furnace
charge and also pressure of the load. Strength is the resistance of the refractory to
compressive loads, tension and shear stresses in cold as well as hot working
conditions.

6. Thermal ConductivityThe thermal conductivity of densest and least porous refractory brick is highest.
This is probably due to the absence of air in voids.
10

Hence least porous bricks having high density have the highest thermal
conductivity which increases when the porosity decreases. The entrapped air serves as
a non heating conducting material and high thermal conductivity of least porous
bricks is due to the absence of air in voids. Even with same degree of porosity the
conductivity of different refractories is not same. Moreover, depending upon the
purpose of refractory for which it is used, sometimes, high thermal conductivity is
required and sometimes low.
Conductivity curves are very helpful in the selection of refractory for a specific
purpose to be served at a particular temperature.

7. Resistance to Rapid Temperature ChangesThey should also be able to withstand sudden changes in temperature during the
introduction of cold charge or sudden rush of cold air in empty furnace. The
refractories having low thermal expansion and coarse texture have been found to have
greater resistance to rapid fluctuations in temperature. Heating of refractory for a
sufficiently long time at very high temperature causes complete mineral inversion and
hence brings about resistance to rapid changes in the temperature.

8. Heat CapacityFurnace heat capacity depends upon(1).Thermal conductivity

(2).Specific heat and
(3).Specific gravity of the refractory.

The light weight bricks, which absorb low quantity of heat are used in furnaces
operated intermittently. This is due to the fact that working temperature of the furnace
can be achieved in less time with fuel. The dense and heavy clay fire bricks, are on the
11

other hand, suitable for regenerator checker work as in coke ovens, glass furnaces and
stoves for blast furnaces.

MANUFACTURE OF REFRACTORIES:
The manufacture of refractories consists of the following important steps:(1) Crushing
(2) Grinding
(3) Screening
(4) Mineral Dressing
(5) Storage
(6) Mixing
(7) Moulding
(8) Drying
(9) Firing
1. CrushingThe clays in the form of big lumps are crushed to suitable size in single or double
roll crushers, jaw crushers or roll crushers. For crushing harder clays e.g. grog, jaw
crushers are most suitable.
2. GrindingAfter crushing the lumps down to 25mm in size, the materials are ground in
suitable grinding machines. Mechanical crushing machines such as stone crushers or
jaw crushers and Alsing cylinders or ball mills are used for this purpose. Hardinge
conical mills have also been used.
3. ScreeningScreening is carried out in order to separate fine particles from coarse material.
12

After screening, the desired size material is passed on to the brick making machine
and over size material is recycled to grinding machine, in order to get again the
particles of desired size. Shaking screen, closed type screen and air separators are
used for this purpose.
4. Mineral DressingIn order to produce good refractories, it is most essential that the raw materials
should be as pure as possible. So in order to purify the raw materials, material
dressing is used. Some methods of concentration are given below:i. Tabling- The undesired foriegn materials present as impurities have different
specific gravity from main raw materials. The impurities are, therefore, separated by
air or water table. The table is kept inclined as well as vibrating , as a result of which
fine ground materials are passed over the table and more or less a good separation is
achieved.
ii. Settling- Settling is carried out in centrifuges and thickeners.
iii Floatation- In this method, the finely crushed mineral is stirred in water with a
suitable froathing agent, as a result of which a multitude of fine bubbles is obtained
due to froath floatation technique. By using a suitable froathing agent, it is also
possible to get the bubbles so that they can carry certain types of particles with them
and float them to the top of the water, where they are carried off.
iv. Magnetic and Electrical separation- The under material like iron oxides and
sulphide, garnet and micas etc., may be separated by using a powerful magnet.
Electrical separation is used to separate one type of mineral from another due to
different attractive forces in the presence of a strong electric field.

(5). StorageAfter mineral dressing, the pure raw materials are kept in storage basins.
13

(6). MixingThe function of mixing is the distribution of plastic material so as to coat

throughoutly the non-plastic constituents. Mixing provides a lubricant during the
moulding operation and permits the bonding of the mass with minimum voids.
(7). MouldingSince refractory bricks of greater density, strength, volume and uniformity are
used in large number of factories, the dry pressure method of moulding is used.
When moulding is done by hand the density and strength of the refractory is not
as high as in the case of mechanical moulding. The dry pressure method is particularly
applicable to batches that consist primarily of non-plastic materials.
In order to use high pressure forming, the deairing of the refractory material is
essential, in order to avoid laminations and cracking when the pressure is released.
The de-airing is done either by applying vaccum in the moulds, or by double pressing
of the material.
(8). DryingDrying is carried out to remove the moisture from refractories. Drying is
performed very slowly under specified conditions of humidity and temperature
depending upon the refractory. Rate of drying should be so maintained that neither
voids are left in the refractory nor shrinkage causing in the production of internal
stresses takes place.

(9). Firing or BurningThe refractories are fired in order to stablize and strengthen the structure. Firing
14

or Burning is usually carried out in down draught kilns. The function of burning or
firing is vitrification and development of stable mineral forms.

SOME SPECIAL REFRACTORY BRICKS:

FIRE CLAY BRICKSFire clays are the most widely used refractory materials since they are
suitable for a variety of applications.
Fire clays are hydrated aluminium silicates having the general
composition, Al2O3, 2SiO2, 2H2O, with impurities of sand and gravel, alkalies,
oxide, sulphate and sulphide of iron, silicates and carbonates of Ca and Mg and small
quantity of TiO2. Fire clays form acidic refractories and may be of three different
types. These are flint or hard clay, plastic soft clays and clays of intermediate
character between hard clay and soft clay. In the manufacture of fire clay bricks both
flint and plastic clay have been used.
Fire clay goods are composed of fire clays or china clays, with the
addition, in case of plastic clays, of grog or free silica. Grog is nothing but broken

15

granulated fired refractory clay and is made from rejected fire clay works, broken
saggers and crucibles etc. For best fire clay goods, it is desirable to use only the grog
made of fire clay.
Fire clay is dug and then allowed to weather for a long time in order to
increase its plasticity. Weathering may also be replaced by de-airing for the same
purpose. Clay and grog are now mixed in a plug mill and requisite amount of water is
added. In modern factories, clay powder and grog of different grain sizes are collected
in hoppers placed in an upper story so that they come down under gravity into the
plug mill or other mixing machine. A more uniform and intimate mixture is obtained,
if dry clay is mixed with the grog and desired amount of water is added after mixing.
If the grain size of the grog used is large, then the resulting goods are more resistant to
sudden temperature changes, but grog has a very small grain size, the fire clay
material is less porous and more resistant to chemical attacks.

Fire clay bricks are then shaped by any of the following methods:(1) Hand moulding from plastic mixture.
(2) Machine pressing from a coarse damp dust.
(3) Extrusion through dies of a plastic material.
(4) Tamping of damp dust or plastic clay by rammers into strongly made moulds.
(5) Casting.

When moulding is done by hand the mixture is rammed and beaten into
moulds so that no air pockets remain in the refractory. Drying of moulded refractories
is carried out by keeping the moulded refractories in a room where there is no direct
sun for a number of days. In order to avoid uneven drying, the heavy refractories are
sometimes covered with clothes, gunny bags etc., especially in summer days, when air
is very dry. After drying, the refractories are fired by arranging in kilns, which may be
single kilns or continuous kilns. Temperature is increased slowly according to a
schedule and then slowly cooled.

16

Various types of kilns such as down draught intermittent ovens, continuous

chamber kilns, tunnel kilns have been employed for firing of fire clay refractories.
Usually time required for firing the fire clay refractories varies from six to ten days,
according to the kiln used and the type of materials to be fired. The temperature of
firing also varies from 1200 C - 1400 C and in the case of fire clay goods rich in
alumina, the temperature of firing is 1400 C or even more. Cooling process also takes
about seven to ten days, according to the type of kiln employed. Extreme care should
be taken during cooling in order to avoid cracking of the ware as a result of sudden
decrease in temperature.

VARIETIES OF FIRE CLAY BRICKS:

There are three types of fire bricks(1) Acidic bricks
(2) Basic bricks
(3) Neutral bricks

(1). Acidic Bricks:

These are used for acidic lining. Following are their different types:
i. Ordinary fire bricks- These bricks are prepared from natural fire clay and they
provide a good material for acidic refractory lining.
ii. Silica bricks- These bricks contain a very high percentage of silica to the extent
of about 95 to 97 per cent. A small quantity of lime , about 1 to 2 per cent , is added to
work as binding material. These bricks can stand a high temperature upto about 2000
C. The compressive strength of such bricks is about 15 N/mm2.

17

(2). Basic Bricks:

These bricks are used for basic lining and basic refractory materials are used in the
manufacture of such bricks. The magnesia bricks are prepared from lime and
magnesia rocks. The dolomite may also be adopted for the manufacture of these
bricks.

(3). Neutral Bricks:

These bricks are used for neutral lining. They offer resistance to the corrosive
action of slags and acid fumes. As compared to the basic bricks, the neutral bricks are
more inert to the slags. Following are the types of neutral bricksi. Chromite bricks- These bricks are prepared from the mixture of chrome, iron
ore, ferrous oxide, bauxite and silica. Such bricks are unaffected by acidic or basic
action.
ii. High alumina bricks- These bricks contain a high percentage of alumina and
they are found to be more inert to the slags.

HIGH ALUMINAHigh alumina bricks are made from clay rich in bauxite and diaspore and usually
embrace those which contain more than 45% alumina. The alumina content increases
the refractories and the temperature of incipient vitrification. These refractories are
practically inert to carbon monoxide and are not disintegrated by natural gas
atmosphere upto 1000 C.

18

 USES OF HIGH ALUMINA BRICKS:

Bauxite bricks are more costly to produce than fire clay bricks and they are,
therefore, used in special circumstances. They are usually used where very high
temperatures are expected or where resistance to basic slag is required. High alumina
bricks are employed in the cement industry and paper mill factories. They are also
used in the linings of glass furnaces, oil fired furnaces, high pressure oil stills and in
generator checkers of blast furnaces.

SILICA BRICKS-

Manufacturing silica bricks contain about 95-96% SiO2 and about 2% of lime
added during grinding to furnish the bond. Silica and a bonding material are thus the
two important raw materials used for the manufacture of silica bricks. Gannister, a
hard, dense, fine grained variety of 95-96% pure silica is a good refractory material.

19

Silica bricks fall into pieces, if they are heated or cooled rapidly. They do not contain
clay, but the physical strength of silica bricks, when heated is much higher than those
made of clay. As a result, they are very suitable for arches in large furnaces.
The raw material most widely used for the manufacture of silica bricks is
quartzite, which is a rock composed crystals of almost pure silica, bound together by a
cement or similar material in such a manner as to produce an almost smooth surface.
The binding materials are lime, clay, sodium silicate, alum, aluminium sulphate,
magnesia, magnesium silicate, plaster of paris, colloidal silica, calcium phosphate,
barium sulphate and even waste products such as tar, molasses, pitch, heavy mineral
oils etc.
Silica bricks have a permanent expansion, which takes place during firing. When
reheated, silica bricks again expand about 1.5% but the effect is reversible, the bricks
returning to original size when cooled. They have a very homogeneous texture, free
from air pockets and moulding defect and posses a low porosity. Furnaces using these
bricks must be heated or cooled gradually, in order to reduce spalling and cracking.

USES OF SILICA BRICKS:

Open hearth furnaces have silica bricks in their main arch side walls. Because of
their high thermal conductivity, silica bricks have been utilized in co-product coke
oven and gas retorts. In general, silica bricks can be used where no shrinkage in
refractory and high resistant to heat is required, because silica bricks have a tendency
20

to expand on heating.

MAGNESITE BRICKS-

Magnesite is naturally occurring magnesium carbonate which constitutes the raw

material for magnesite refractories and in nature it occurs as crystalline magnesium
spar or crypto crystalline magnesite. The magnesite bricks are basic in nature and used
in situations, where a highly basic refractory is required or where slags of basic nature
are formed.
USES OF MAGNESITE BRICKS:
These are used in open hearth and electric furnace walls, in the burning zones of
cement kilns, and in roofs of nonferrous reverberatory furnaces. Hard burned chrome
magnesite bricks are used in the basic open hearth furnaces. On a commercial scale,
magnesite refractories have been used in the construction of soaking pits, basic open
hearth furnace, arc furnaces, hot metal mixers, converters for Cu, Pb, Ni etc, and
furnaces for refining noble metals.

FORSTERITE BRICKSForsterite is used as a base for high temperature refractories. In the manufacture of
forsterite refractories, dead burned magnesite is usually added to convert some
accessory minerals also to forsterite, which is the most stable silicate at higher
temperatures. These refractories have high melting point and unsurpassed volume
stability at higher temperatures and no calcination is necessary in their preparation.

USES OF FORSTERITE BRICKS:

21

Forsterite refractories are used in glass tank superstructures, open hearth end walls
and copper refining furnaces.

DOLOMITE BRICKSDolomite bricks are made by mixing calcined dolomite mixture in equimolecular
proportions with silica as binding material. Other binding materials used for the
purpose are tar, magnesium silicate, basic slags, quick lime, iron ore or iron oxide,
clays etc.
In the manufacture of dolomite, having the composition CaMg(CO3)2 is calcined
and mixed with bonding agent and water in an edge runner or plug mill. The mixture
is allowed to age by storing in wet conditions. Finally it is moulded to bricks by hand
moulds or pressing. The moulded bricks are air dried and fired at 1500C for about 24
hours.

USES OF DOLOMITE BRICKS:

Dolomite is rarely used as a direct refractory, but is useful as a repair material.
Stabilized dolomite bricks have been used for basic electric furnace linings, Bessemer
converters, open hearth furnaces, laddle linings etc.

22

 CHROMITE BRICKSChromite is a neutral refractory and hence very valuable as a contact material for
basic materials. The method of manufacture of chromite bricks is similar to that for
magnesite bricks, but without preliminary calcination.

USES OF CHROMITE BRICKS:

Chromite bricks are used in steel furnaces, copper works, antimony and lead
furnaces. It is also used in making hearths of industrial reheating furnaces, inner lining
of acid converters used in the extraction of Cu from low grade ores and also as a
buffer between acid and basic linings in the basic open hearth furnaces and in the
bottom of soaking pits as well.

23

CONCLUSION:
Refractory bricks are built primarily to withstand high heat but should also
usually have a low thermal conductivity to save energy.
Firebrick should not spall under rapid temperature change and their strength
should hold up well during rapid temperature changes. Either dense or porous
firebricks can be used depending upon the situation. Usually dense firebricks are used
in applications with extreme mechanical, chemical, or thermal stresses, such as the
inside of a wood-fired kiln or a furnace, which is subject to abrasion from wood,
fluxing from ash or slag, and high temperatures. In other, less harsh situations, such as
a natural gas fired kiln, more porous bricks are a better choice.
Thus firebricks are used for basic electric furnace linings, Bessemer
converters, open hearth furnaces, laddle linings etc, and find most of its applications
in industries where high temperatures have to be encountered.

24