The quality and suitability of refractory products for a custom industrial oven application depends on their physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties. There are various properties which are to be considered when choosing the best industrial oven lining configuration. The most common ones include the following.
Apparent Porosity
This property is the measure of the open pore space in refractories into which the molten slag, gases, metals, etc. can enter and eventually degrade of the material. Apparent porosity is expressed as the average percent of open pore space in the entire product.
Bulk Density
Basically, bulk density is just the weight of the overall refractory volume, that’s measured in conjunction with apparent porosity. For most refractory products, density also indicates product quality. It means that the refractories with higher bulk density, which are usually with lower porosity, will have better quality. This is because they tend to be denser, leading to better resistance to abrasion and chemicals as well as reduced molten metal penetration.
Thermal Conductivity
This property is an indication of your custom industrial oven’s heat flow property. Higher thermal conductivity also means higher heat flow potential. Refractories with high thermal conductivity are ideal for applications that require good heat transfer such as in regenerators, oven, and furnace walls. This property is very much affected by the porosity of a refractory material. An increase in porosity leads to a decrease in thermal conductivity.
Thermal Expansion
This characteristic is intrinsic to refractory products. They expand when heated and contract when cooled. This change in dimensions of a refractory can be expressed in permanent linear change and the coefficient of thermal expansion within the custom industrial oven.
Other properties have to be considered depending on the requirements of a particular application. And definitely, the performance of your oven components depends on their qualities and quantities in different phases which dictate their ultimate property. Regardless of the demands of your specific application, Eastman Manufacturing offers the best-in-class products. Just let us know your specifications and we’ll give you the best custom oven solution.