Monolithic Refractories

Abstract

Refractory materials are chemically and physically stable at high temperatures. Monolithic refractories (Refractory Castables) are unformed/ unshaped refractories and are only given shape upon application. These are materials which consist of precision graded coarse and fine refractory grains. They are gelled by means of a binder system in the materials green state. Following the heat-up of the material the binder either transforms or volatilizes facilitating the formation of a ceramic bond. The most common binder used in castables is high alumina cement. Other binders that are often used include hydratable alumina and colloidal silica. The cement-containing castables are often classified by the amount of cement they contain. Conventional castables can contain around 15-30% cement binder. Low cement castables contain between about 3-10% weight cement. Ultra low cement castables contain less than 3% cement component.