Main trends on the simulation of the drying of refractory castables - Review

Abstract

Abstract Refractory castables develop microstructures after curing that behave as partially saturated porous media. Upon heating (during its drying stage), the steam generated by the physical and chemically bond water can result in pore pressurization and explosive spalling. Numerical modeling can provide guidelines for designing safer heat-up profiles and also a better understanding of the mechanisms that lead to catastrophic damage. This work aims to review the fundamentals and models available, providing insightful thoughts on the current trends of the drying phenomena of ceramic compositions. The review also highlights that there are models better oriented to result in reasonable predictions of pore pressure values and others focused on a more accurate representation of the main physical phenomena that take place during heating. According to the findings, there are still various challenges to attain accurate models with high applicability capable of yielding safer and more efficient drying of refractory castables.