MIDDLE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

TECHNICAL ENGINEERING

MATERIAL DEPARTMENT

FIRE CLAY , ALUMINA , ZIRCONUM ,DINA’S BRICKS

(RAW MATERIAL ,MANUFACTORING, PROPERTIES APPLICATIONS)

BY
AYA MAJID JASSIM

MATERIAL ENGINEERING

STAJE 3

FINAL REPORT
FIRE CLAY BRICK
A fire brick is a special type of brick made using fire clay and has a good resistance
against high temperatures which are used in kilns, lining furnaces, fireplaces and
fireboxes. These bricks are manufactured in a way similar to that of normal bricks,
except during the burning process- Fire bricks are exposed to very high
temperatures.

RAW MATERIALS
AL2O3 (23-34%)
SIO2 (50-60%)
Various ammount of: Fe2O3.CaO , MgO , K2O , Na2O , TiO2 (6-27%)

MANUFACTORING
Preparation of Raw Material ( composed of hydrous silicates of aluminium
(Al2O3•2SiO2•2H2O) with or without free silica then Forming or shaping , Setting
and drying , Glazing provides a thin & smooth coat on the surface. Firing or
burning in kilns above 950°C , Cooling rate of cooling affects brittleness, color &
shape, and finally de-hacking and storinf finished products .
PROPERTIES

o They are yellowish white or white in color.

o They are available in different sizes ranging from 9 X 4.5 X 2.5 inches to 9 X
2.75 X 2.25 inches.
o One general fire brick weighs about 30 to 35 N.
o The compressive strength of fire bricks ranges from 200 to 220 Kg/cm2.
o The percentage of water absorption varies from 5 to 10%.
o They have good chemical resistance.

APPLICATIONS

Fire bricks are used for the following purposes:

o These are used for Inner surface lining of kilns, furnaces, chimneys etc.
o To build fire-resistant structures thereby reducing the damage of the structure
against fire accidents.
o For inner lining of wood-fired ovens.
o As an insulating material for furnaces, ovens because of their lower thermal
conductivity.
ALUMINA BRICK
High Alumina Bricks are produced with select bauxite chamotte as main raw
material, fired at 1450-1470 °C by advanced process with strict quality control.
High Alumina bricks have great features like high temperature performance, great
corrosion and wear resistance, high bulk density, low iron content, etc. High
Alumina bricks are extensively used in mining, metallurgy, cement, and chemical,
refinery and refractory industries.
These bricks are used in all kinds of industrial furnaces and high temperature areas
to prolong the lives of furnaces.

RAW MATERIAL
Sio2 (9-12%)
Al2O3 (82-85%)
TiO2 (3-4%)
Fe2O3 (1.6-1.65%)
CaO (0.1-0.2%)
MgO (0.1-0.15%)
Na2 , K2O (0.2-0.3%)
MANUFACTURING
Specimen preparation , kaolinite clay samples were dry grounded, then mixed with
35wt% of alumina in order to raise its alumina content to about 70 wt%.
Kaolinalumina specimens were compacted by using semi-dry pressing method
(hydraulic press under 300kg/cm2 and water content 6-9%). The specimens had a
cylindrical shape (30mm diameter and 30mm height) for testing the physical,
mechanical and thermal shock resistance properties at different firing temperatures
1200, 1300, 1400, 1500 ᵒC for soaking time 2hr with firing rate 100ᵒC/hr.
The firied specimens were characterized by measuring each for firing shrinkage
according to ASTM C-326[7], apparent porosity, apparent density and water
absorption according to B.S1902 [8]. Also, compressive strength was measured
according to ASTM standard [9].
One of the biggest challenges of the refractory materials during metallurgical
applications, are the thermal conductivity and thermal shock resistance properties.
In the present work, thermal conductivity was measured by Lees disc method with
specimens dimensions 50mm diameter and10mm thickness, while thermal shock
resistance was measured according to DIN1608 [10] by placing the specimens in a
furnace heated to 900Cᵒ for15 min. duration. Rapid quenching was accomplished
by dipping in cold water with checking for cracks or other possible visible changes
in the structure and counting the number of cycles without major damages for
specimens sintered at 1200,1300,1400 and1500 ᵒC.
Hardness test was carried out using Brnell hardness test. Brnell hardness test uses a
diamond indenter of square pyramid shape which applies to the surface of the
specimen for (10- 15 ) sec 500 gm load after refining with 1000 grid grinding fire
clay paper in order to reduce the machining scratches and decrease the influence of
surface defects on hardness behavior.
PROPERTIES
o One of the important working properties of high alumina refractory brick is
the structure strength at high temperature.
o refractory brick with the Al2O3 content below 70%, the refractoriness under
load depends on the quantitative proportion of crystal phase and liquid phase.
o For the mullite- corundum refractory brick with the AL2O3 content of 70% ~
90%, the content of AL2O3 increases, but the improvement of refractoriness
under load is not obvious.
o Owing to the massive increase of Ti02.Fe203 content in glass phase, so the
number of glass phase increases and the viscosity decreases.
o The thermal shock resistance of the high alumina refractory brick is worse
than that of the clay brick.
o The slag resistance of high alumina brick increases with the increase of Al2O3
content.
o The high aluminum brick has higher thermal conductivity than the clay brick.

APPLICATIONS

o Blast Furnace
o Hot Air Stove
o Roof Of Electric Stove
o Reverberatory Furnace
o The lining of Rotary Kiln
o high alumina bricks are widely used as
o Checker brick in Siemens-Martin Regenerative Open-Hearth Furnace
o Plug or nozzle brick for gating system.
ZIRCON BRICK
Zirconia bricks produced by stable zircon sand have the advantage of mechanical
strength, excellent stability to thermal shock, resistance to corrosion, high
refractoriness under load and inertness, high density, etc. It is widely used in glass
furnace, non-ferrous metal smelting furnace, and pure steel furnace.

RAW MATERIAL
ZrO2 64%
SiO2 (33-36%)
Fe2O3 (0.3-0.5%)

MANUFACTURING
Clay-bound Zirconia products can be made using a semi-dry process. 2% plastic
clay is added to the zircon sand and zircon fine powder, and the performance of the
mud is adjusted by electrolyte. The mud was kneaded and molded under a pressure
of 127 MPa (molding moisture was 4%). After the brick body was dried, it was
baked at a temperature of 1400 °C.When a pure zircon product is produced, the
zircon fine powder can be surface-activated. The zircon sand and the zircon fine
powder having a particle size of less than 0.03 mm are compounded in a ratio of
1:1. The slurry is prepared by adding water or sulfite pulp waste. After kneading,
molding (molding moisture 4.5%), and firing at 1450 ° C.

PROPERTIES
o High refractoriness under load
o Excellent thermal shock resistance
o Good corrosion resistance
o High mechanical strength
o Great creep resistance
o High density

APPLICATIONS
o Glass melting furnace.
o Ladle lining in the metallurgical industry.
o Areas of crown, burner, thermal couple, peep hole, and secondary layer of
melter bottom and back lining.
o Areas of glass tank, such as paving part and secondary layer of paving bottom,
back lining, wall and bottom of fore hearth, flowing spout and spinning
portion and melter.
 o Upper area of flame space or frequent thermal shock position.
o Lining of alkali-free or low-alkali glass, sodium-calcium glass, boron-silicate
glass, ceramic glass, lead glass, and other technical glass melting furnace.

DINA’S BRICKS
A refractory silica brick made from an impure sandstone containing lime and clay
and formerly used in furnace.

RAW MATERIAL
SiO2 ( 93-98% )
Al2O3 ( 0.5-2.5% )
Fe2O3 ( 0.3-2.5% )
CaO ( 0.2-2.7% )
R2O ( 1-1.5%)

MANUFACTURING
Preparation of Raw Material ( composed of hydrous silicates of aluminium
(Al2O3•2SiO2•2H2O) , Forming or shaping (mixing with water to a plastic
condition to obtain the desired shape) , Setting and drying , Glazing TO provides a
thin & smooth coat on the surface. Firing or burning in kilns above 950°C
Cooling rate of cooling affects brittleness, color & shape and finally de-hacking and
storinf finished products.

PROPERTIES
o acidic refractory materials
o the resistance to acid slag erosion.
o melting point (1670 , 1713 ).
o They have the ability to withstand a 172 to 345 kPa load to
o They have excellent creep properties.

APPLICATIONS
o coke oven
o glass melting furnace
o acid steelmaking furnace
o electric arc furnace roof.
REFRENCE

o Insley, A.A. Klein, Constitution and Microstructure of Silica Brick and Changes
Involved through Repeated Burnings at High Temperatures, Department of
Commerce Technologic Papers of the National Bureau of Standards, No. 124
Government Printing Office, Washington, July 11, 1919

Google Scholar

o R. Jenkins, The silica brick and its inventor, William Weston Young, 1776–
1847. Trans. Newcomen Soc. XXII(1), 139–147 (1942)

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o Calciners and Dryers in Mineral Industries" (Background Information for

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o K.C.P. Faria, R.F. Gurgel, J.N.F. Holanda. “Recycling of sugarcane bagasse ash
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o Thorpe, Sir Thomas Edward (1890). A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry
Volume I. Longmans Green & Company, London