because of the structure of the product should be prepared in accordance
with the instructions for fireclay dense refractories.
7. Set-Up of Test Specimen and Silicon Carbide Slab
7.1 Two strips of refractory fiber paper 13
1
⁄
2
by
1
⁄
2
by
0.02 in. (343 by 13 by 0.5 mm) shall be placed along the
13
1
⁄
2
-in. dimension of the inner guard at the outside edges, as
shown in Fig. 1. Twelve strips of refractory fiber paper 2 by
1
⁄
2
by 0.02 in. (51 by 13 by 0.5 mm) shall be placed on the outer
guard at intervals in the pattern shown in Fig. 1. These strips
serve as spacers to prevent contact between the test material
and the calorimeter assembly. The test specimen shall be
placed centrally over the center of the calorimeter section on its
9by4
1
⁄
2
-in. (228 by 114-mm) face, the guard brick placed at
the sides of the test specimen so as to completely cover the
calorimeter and inner guard area, and the soap brick placed
around the edge of the three brick so as to completely cover the
calorimeter assembly. The small space between the furnace
walls and the test brick assembly shall be filled with a
granulated insulating firebrick.
7.2 When testing Group 28, 30, 32, or 33 insulating
firebrick, it may be desirable to obtain test results at higher
mean temperatures than is possible with the sample set-up
described in 7.1. This can be accomplished by placing a 0.5-in.
(13-mm) thick layer of ceramic fiber-block insulation or 0.5 in.
of Group 20 insulating firebrick between the calorimeter area
and the test specimen. Sufficient material is required to cover
an area 18 by 13
1
⁄
2
in. (456 by 342 mm). The solid sheet of
back-up insulation shall be ground so as to provide surfaces
that are plane and do not vary from parallel by more than
60.01 in. (0.3 mm). This shall be placed on the refractory fiber
strips described in 7.1. Additional refractory fiber strips, in an
identical pattern, shall be placed on top of the ceramic fiber
board. The test specimen and guard brick shall then be placed
as described in 7.1.
7.3 The silicon carbide slab shall be placed over the 9 by
13
1
⁄
2
-in. (228 by 342-mm) area of the three 9-in. sample brick,
and it shall be spaced 1 in. (25 mm) above the sample by
placing under each corner of the slab rectangular pieces of
Group 30 or 32 (see Classification C155) insulating firebrick
cut to measure
3
⁄
8
in. (10 mm) square and 1.00 in. (25.4 mm)
in length.
8. Procedure
8.1 Place the heating chamber in position, start the water
flowing through the calorimeter assembly, and supply the
current to the heating unit. Above a temperature of 1470 °F
(800 °C), the furnace atmosphere shall contain a minimum of
0.5 % oxygen with 0 % combustibles. Take the atmosphere
sample from the furnace chamber proper, preferably as near the
test specimen as possible. Maintain the rate of water flow
through the calorimeter between 120 and 200 g/min, and
determine by weighing the quantity of water collected during a
measured time period. The mass of water collected shall be not
less than 200 g and shall be weighed to an accuracy of 60.5 g.
The rate of flow shall be constant within 61 % during the test
period.
8.2 Allow the furnace to reach a condition of steady state of
heat flow (test period), which shall be that condition when the
measured flow of heat into the calorimeter varies less than 2 %
over a 2-h period, during which time the temperature difference
between the calorimeter and inner guard has not been more
than 0.05 °F (0.03 °C), the hot face of the test specimen has not
varied more than 65°F (63 °C), and the temperature of the
water entering the calorimeter has not varied at a rate of more
than 1 °F (0.5 °C) ⁄h (Note 2). Usually, 12 h or more is needed
to obtain a balance with the apparatus after a definite change is
made in the hot-face temperature.
NOTE 2—Significant errors will result if the tolerances specified are
exceeded.
8.3 After the steady state of heat flow has been reached,
measure the temperature of the test specimen, the rate of water
flow through the calorimeter, and the temperature rise of the
water flowing through the calorimeter. Take at least four sets of
readings (Note 3) at approximately 30-min intervals during the
2-h holding period, and average these for the final values for
that particular heating chamber temperature. Obtain such data
when the heating chamber is maintained at the temperatures
recommended in Table 1. Temperatures other than those given
in the table may be used to obtain additional information.
NOTE 3—From these data, a preliminary thermal conductivity calcula-
tion may be made using estimated distances between thermocouple
junctions in the test specimen.
8.4 At the conclusion of the test, remove the specimen and
cut it in two, close to the thermocouple junctions. Then grind
the specimen to expose the hot junctions, and measure the
distance between their center lines to the nearest 0.01 in.
(0.3 mm). If upon being cut in two the test specimen shows
FIG. 1 Arrangement of Refractory Fiber-Paper Strips in Calorim-
eter Assemblage
C182 − 19
2