The technological evolution of refractory castables generated novel materials associating high performance with distinct rheological behavior. Nowadays, a large variety of castables are available, including pumpable, shotcreting, self-flowing and vibrated compositions. However, despite the high technology involved in these materials, their rheological characterization has been restricted to the limited measurement of flow value, which is unable to properly distinguish the different classes of castables. The present work presents the rheological characterization of a pumpable self-flow refractory castable carried out by a rheometer specially developed for this kind of material. The influence of the water content and cement hydration on castable rheology was evaluated as a function of time and shear history, in order to simulate pumping conditions. The results show the importance of the rheometer as a tool for the design and analysis of the rheological behavior of refractory castables.
pumpable castable; rheometer rheology; refractory; cement
