Refractory linings are heavily damaged by the erosion caused by particles moving pneumatically through vessels and pipes in fluid flash calciners. This sort of wearing constitutes one of the key factors for equipment lining degradation. Consequently, the performance of materials has an immediate effect on a company's profit, as each maintenance call has a direct impact on the operational schedule and costs. Although the operation temperature of the calciners ranges from 200 up to 1250 ºC, the erosion resistance, which is one of the main properties selected to evaluate the materials used in this application, is mostly measured only at room temperature. Nevertheless, this sort of evaluation does not represent the actual working environment. Therefore, it is worth studying this subject in more depth in order to find out some relationship between the severity of erosion and the temperature. In order to reach this target, the present work comprises the development and application of hot erosion equipment concerning the evaluation of refractory castables for fluid flash calciners.
refactories; hot erosion
