Composite refractories for the most loaded areas of blast furnaces

The service of a blast furnace is mainly governed by the state of the lining of the hearth and the bottom. Contemporary specifications are considered for it based on the example of the largest blast furnaces in the world: No. 5 with a net volume of 5580 m 3 (OAO Severstal’, Cherepovets, Russia) and No. 2 with an internal volume of 5775 m 3 (Nippon Steel Corporation, Oita, Japan). It is proposed in comparing refractory quality, apart from traditional properties, to consider a mineralogical (phase) criterion for oxide heat resistance, i.e. heat energy density.