ABSTRACT
Refractory materials, by definition, are supposed to be resistant to heat and are
exposed to different degrees of mechanical stress and strain, thermal stress and
strain, corrosion/erosion from solids, liquids and gases, gas diffusion, and mechanical abrasion at various temperatures. Different refractories are designed and
manufactured so that the properties of the refractories will be appropriate for
their applications. In most cases, refractory properties can be predicted from the
results of appropriate tests; for others, knowledge and experience predict the
refractory properties where direct tests correlating the properties are not
available. The testing of refractory properties can, in most cases, indicate the
performance of a refractory in actual application. Hence, appropriate testing of
refractories for predicting properties, closely simulative to their applications, is
of great importance. In this chapter, the importance of the refractory properties
is covered so that performance in actual application will closely resemble their
characteristic properties.
