Abstract

A constant focus on the technical applications and in particular on the economic saving potentials in several industries results in numerous flexible, efficient and reliable innovations in the development of refractory concretes. As a result the share of monolithic products of the world wide refractory market increases year by year. Cement-containing refractory concretes are considered to be standard in many industries and applications, although a major drawback of these materials is their long and complex curing and drying phase. The heat-up of such linings may cause higher energy costs and longer downtimes of the furnace. Thus, in linings designed with shaped and monolithic refractories the typical cement bonded products limit the efficiency of the refractory commissioning procedure. At present the development of preferentially two different no cement castable concepts, namely cement-free refractory concretes which are installed simply with water or with a highly reactive liquid binder, represents a significant technical advance. This paper presents a comparison of cement containing refractory concretes, where the novel no cement concepts embody an optimized microstructure. In this context the easy and simple applying, a faster drying and heating with a reduced risk of explosion damage, a shorter time for re-commissioning, veneering aspects as well as a stress-reduced performance and improved high temperature properties of these cement-free refractory concretes are accentuated. A constant focus on these multifaceted and closely interconnected demands has resulted in new refractory concrete concepts, which allows simple handling with safe installation and high performance in highly stressed plant areas of different industries in the foreground.