Action of high temperature gas streams on zirconia refractories

Abstract

We investigated the erosion resistance of zirconia stabilized with CaO in the temperature range 1700–2350°C as a function of a gas current velocity of from 300 to 730 m/see. The erosion rate increases exponentially with temperature rise, and its dependence on the velocity of the current approximates to a linear rule. The highest erosion rate is noted in the first hours of the gas current action on the specimens, which is connected with the removal of impurities and weakly bonded grains, and also the formation of a surface layer of material. The erosion rate essentially depends on the composition and structure of the material. Incorporating potassium in the gas current increases the erosion rate 10–25%, but does not alter the nature of the relationship between the erosion and temperature of the current and its action time.