ABSTRACT
This chapter considers firstly the properties and applications of refractories, and secondly the various components of furnace construction. The function of refractories is to isolate or form a heat barrier by means of resisting materials in the form of a lining within the structure, in such a way that the maximum possible amount of the initial heat input will be contained and passed only to the workload. The refractory lining surrounding a flame used for heating stock and contained within the steel structure, constitutes the furnace proper. The term 'refractory materials' is understood to refer to those materials, or the manufactured products prepared from them, which exhibit mechanical strength and chemical stability at high temperatures, together with the required insulating properties. They must also withstand the effects of thermal shock high resistance to wear, chemical resistance to slags and be of uniform and constant composition.
