Refractory linings are a critical component of any plant and the success and performance depends on a thorough understanding of both the material and structural behaviour of the lining in the process conditions under which the lining must operate.
The financial gain by improving the performance of refractory linings by reducing lost production and preventing plant stoppages is significant. Each year industry loses millions of dollars in unscheduled downtime the graph shows that the financial loss can vary from $500,000 per day to several million dollars per day.
There are many reasons that can contribute to the failure of refractories and refractory anchors. High temperature and high strength materials like refractories or ceramics often fail due to incorrect or poor design of the component or process lining.
What is known is that quasi-brittle materials like acid bricks, cement mortars and refractories will crack due to thermally induced stresses. Under many operating conditions there is no way to avoid cracking, so it is vital that cracking be controlled. Thus it is important in today's regulatory and legal environment that refractory linings be design by experienced professional engineers.
By using Palmer Tech Group we can assist you in the area of refractory engineering and assessment
- Lining integrity testing using P-ResponseŽ
- Refractory assessments defining risks, costs and improvement strategies
- QA/QC inspections
- Shutdown scoping and budgeting
- Failure analysis of refractory materials and anchoring systems
