Refractory castables are low porosity and permeability materials. Due to this, the first heat up must be carried out in a careful way in order to avoid the risks of explosive spalling and mechanical damages during the water withdrawn. On the other hand, the growing use of refractory castables in the aluminum industry, as calciners lining, and the lack of production during their placement indicate that optimized heating schedules may become an important competitive advantage to the companies. In order to join these two aspects, additives to easy the drying process and to make it safer were developed. These drying additives behave, generally, increasing the castable permeability in a more controlled way. The most important ones are the aluminum powder and the polymeric fibers. In the present work, their mechanisms and the most suitable processing condition for their use are presented.
refractory castables; drying additives; aluminum powder; polymeric fibers
