This guide supports early procurement discussion. Final material selection, installation and heat-up decisions must be confirmed for the actual project.
Confirm product identity and document status
Check the manufacturer, exact grade, product form, intended application and document revision. A historic brochure or a similarly named grade should not be treated as the current contract specification.
- Manufacturer and production entity
- Exact grade and product form
- Issue date or revision number
- Intended application and limitations
Read every number with its test condition
Properties can change with specimen preparation, drying or firing temperature, hold time and test standard. Compare values only when the units and test basis are equivalent.
- Test standard and specimen preparation
- Temperature, hold time and atmosphere
- Units and reporting precision
- Typical value, minimum, maximum or range
Connect properties to the service zone
Chemical composition, porosity, density, cold strength, hot strength, permanent linear change, refractoriness under load, thermal conductivity and thermal-shock data answer different questions. Select the properties that relate to the actual damage mechanism and lining role.
- Chemistry and corrosion exposure
- Porosity, penetration and structural density
- Mechanical load, abrasion and handling
- Thermal cycling, heat transfer and dimensional change
Separate reference data from order acceptance
A public data sheet can support early selection, but the purchase order should define the properties, tolerances, sampling and records that will govern acceptance. Do not assume every published value is guaranteed for every batch.
- Agreed guaranteed limits
- Sampling frequency and test laboratory
- Dimensional and appearance tolerances
- Batch inspection report or certificate of analysis
Check installation and delivery information
For monolithics and lining systems, storage life, water addition, mixing, placing, curing, dry-out and heat-up instructions may be as important as the property table. For shaped products, drawings, tolerances, marks and packing sequence support correct installation.
- Storage and shelf-life conditions
- Installation and curing instructions
- Project-specific dry-out or heat-up inputs
- Drawing approval, marking and packing list