High-temperature mechanical characterisation of an alumina refractory concrete for Blast Furnace main trough: PART II. Material behaviour

This paper deals with the experimental mechanical characterisation of a high alumina carbon containing refractory concrete at temperatures ranging from room to high temperature (1500 °C). Uniaxial compression, indirect tensile, creep and cyclic loading–unloading tests have been performed. Scale factor effect, influence of interfaces lubrication, material initial heat treatment as well as oxidising or reducing atmosphere test conditions have been investigated. Some of the material mechanical properties have been found to depend not only on the level of applied temperature but also on its duration revealing then the sensible influence of chemical transformation kinetics within the material. An analysis of the global macroscopic mechanical behaviour of the material through the range of temperature is lastly exposed. The data collected are aimed at identifying damage behaviour constitutive equations for numerical simulation of structures built within this material.