Results of a competition for the most resistant ladle brick

Conclusions

The wear of the Chasov-Yar ladle brick was less than that of bricks made by the other factories; its average resistance for the five ladles was 13.3 melts.

The average wear of the ladle brick made by the Zaporozh Plant exceeded the wear of the Chasov-Yar brick. The average resistance of this brick for the five ladles was 13.2 melts.

The wear of the ladle brick made at the Belokamen Firebrick Plant is uniform, with only slight washing-out of the joints. The surface of the ladle after service was smooth and glazed.

Examining all the materials tested during the competition the award panel awarded: first place in the compeitition to the Chasov-Yar Combine; second place to the Zaporozh Plant; third place to the Belokamen Plant.

On the basis of material on the technology for the manufacture of ladle bricks used in the plants taking part in the competition, and also the service factors of the products during competitive testing, and on the basis of proposals from the All-Union, Ukraine and Vostok Institutes of Refractories for improving the quality of ladle brick, the award panel of the competition made the following recommendations for further improving the quality of ladle bricks:

scientific-research institutes for refractories in collaboration with factory producers should carry out tests of fired ladle bricks made from chamotte and semiacid bodies, kaolinized and high-alumina raw materials and unfired products, and also should test linings made from rammed bodies in ladles of different capacities in different conditions of service;

concerns should specialize in the manufacture of ladle bricks and install modern grinding, blending and pressing equipment;

the assortment of bricks should be reexamined and the sizes of ladle bricks should be increased with the aim of reducing the number of joints in the structure;

output of adequate supplies of high-grade special packaged mortars should be ensured.