Thermal Properties and Performance of Refractory Materials

Refractory materials form the backbone of industries operating at extreme temperatures, including steelmaking, cement production, glass manufacture and petrochemical processing. Comprised principally of oxides, carbides and nitrides, these materials are engineered to withstand temperatures in excess of 1500 °C while resisting mechanical wear, chemical corrosion and thermal shock. Key thermal properties include thermal conductivity, which governs heat transfer through the lining; coefficient of thermal expansion, which influences dimensional stability under rapid temperature changes; and thermal shock resistance, determining a lining’s ability to survive abrupt heating or cooling. At the same time, high‐temperature creep and thermomechanical stress response underpin service life in load-bearing applications. Modern advances have focused on tailored microstructures—such as fine-grained composites or in situ formed phases—and on the incorporation of nano-scale additives to improve densification, limit pore connectivity and enhance heat-insulating performance. Sustainability considerations have driven research into recycling of spent refractories, recovery of valuable phases and life-cycle assessments, reflecting a growing imperative to reduce waste and energy consumption. The interplay between chemical composition, phase assemblage and microstructure remains central to optimising both the thermal performance and the durability of refractories in demanding service environments.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Thermal Properties and Performance of Refractory Materials publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in thermal properties and performance of refractory materials across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Thermal conductivity: Measure of a material’s ability to conduct heat under a temperature gradient.
Thermal creep: Time-dependent permanent deformation of a material under constant stress at elevated temperature.
Liquid-phase sintering: Densification process in which a transient liquid phase facilitates particle rearrangement and bonding.
Slag penetration: Infiltration of molten by-products into refractory pores, leading to chemical erosion and thermal performance degradation.

References

1. Fabrication, microstructure, and properties of SiC/Al4SiC4 multiphase ceramics via an in-situ formed liquid phase sintering. Journal of Advanced Ceramics (2020).
2. Oxidation Resistance and Wetting Behavior of MgO-C Refractories: Effect of Carbon Content. Materials (2018).
3. Statistical study of compressive creep parameters of an alumina spinel refractory. Ceramics International (2020).