Refractory Bricks
Refractory brick, also known as fire brick, is a type of specialized brick which is designed for use in high heat environments such as kilns and furnaces. High quality refractory brick has a number of traits which make it distinct from other types of brick.
The primarily important property of refractory brick is that it can withstand very high temperatures without failing. It also tends to have low thermal conductivity, which is designed to make operating environments safer and more efficient. Furthermore, refractory brick can withstand impact from objects inside a high heat environment, and it can contain minor explosions which may occur during the heating process.
This brick product is made with specialty clays which can be blended with materials such as magnesia, silicon carbide, alumina, silica, and chromium oxide. Using refractory brick which is not designed for the application can be dangerous, as the bricks may fail, cracking, exploding, or developing other problems during use which could pose a threat to safety in addition to fouling a project.
Even though it is specifically designed for high heat environments, refractory brick will eventually start to fail. It can crack, flake, or break down over time, necessitating regular inspection of environments where this product is used. If damaged bricks are identified, they need to be removed and replaced with new bricks to ensure that the device operates as intended, and to reduce the risk of injuries, equipment failure, and other problems.
Some places where refractory brick can appear include: fireplaces, wood stoves, cremation furnaces, ceramic kilns, furnaces, forges, and some types of ovens. The earliest refractory bricks were developed around the 1800s, with several inventors contributing radical reworkings to make such products safer and more reliable.
