Identification of Material Thermal Stress Strain Behaviour for Simulation of Conditions in Reactors (RELING)

The objective of this work is obtaining a deep insight and knowledge about physical and mechanical behaviour of different baked shaped refractory materials exposed to high temperatures. This knowledge will further allow determining the maximum admissible thermomechanical stresses and deformations under different stress states. So that the hearth lining design and composition of a reactor can be optimized and their lifetime extended. Additionally, a reliable work-methodology must be given with the intention that in a future stage the thermomechanical optimization of the metallurgical reactor with the help of parametric analysis can be performed. As a result, the main issue of this thesis is the identification and selection of an acceptable design criterion where the thermomechanical resistance capacity of the refractories is analysed and compared with the experimental tests. The proposed design criterion is meant to describe the capacity of the different refractory materials to withstand the thermomechanical stresses under multiaxial stress conditions. Consequently, the design method must be able to take into account the temperature effects on the refractory material. Additionally, the design procedure must be compatible with the nowadays available finite element analysis software and allow the metallurgical reactor optimization by varying in a later stage material properties and/or geometrical dimensions. For this reason, a vast thermomechanical experimental layout was elaborated so that the thermomechanical structural behaviour of the different shaped refractories are analysed. This serves the future ability of numerical simulations so that the hearth lining thermomechanical generated stresses in process can be determined. Funded by the ArcelorMittal Research Assistant: David RODRIGUES 03.2007 – 02.2011 PhD-Thesis Title: Identification of material thermal stress-strain behavior for simulation of conditions in metallurgical reactors PhD-Thesis URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10993/15625