Refractory materials are exposed to thermal, mechanical and chemical stress, which can lead to wear and destruction. They behave in a brittle-elastic manner up to high temperatures. One-sided heating during use creates a temperature gradient in the material, which can cause thermally induced stress cracks. These cracks can lead to failure of the material. At high temperatures, the material softens and its fracture behaviour changes to plastic behaviour. This softening can contribute to melt phase formation and reduce the thermally induced stresses.
In this study, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to investigate the controlled formation of melting phases in refractory castables and to draw conclusions about the influence of the melting phase on softening behaviour, erosion and corrosion resistance.