Thermal conductivity was correlated to the properties of commercial refractory materials with bulk densities in the range of 0.55 g/cm³ and 3.14 g/cm³ and the total porosity between 15% and 81%. An empirical model correlating the thermal conductivity as a function of bulk density and temperature is presented and discussed. The proposed model provides a very fast route to estimate the thermal conductivity of refractories within the variation range of alumina content, bulk density and total porosity employed in this work. In order to apply the model, the only required property is the bulk density, which is commonly evaluated by the quality control during refractory production. Statistical analysis are employed to validate the proposed empirical model.
refractory materials; thermal conductivity
