A fire brick, firebrick, or refractory brick is a block of refractory ceramic material used in lining furnaces, kilns, fireboxes, and fireplaces. In Metallurgy, refraction is a property of Metals that indicates their ability to withstand Heat. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) A furnace is a device used for Heating The name derives from Latin fornax, Oven. Kilns are thermally insulated chambers or Ovens in which controlled temperature regimes are produced A fireplace is an architectural element consisting of a space designed to contain a Fire, generally for Heating but sometimes also for Cooking

A refractory brick is built primarily to withstand high heat, but should also usually have a low thermal conductivity to save energy. In Physics, thermal conductivity, k is the property of a material that indicates its ability to conduct Heat. Usually dense firebricks are used in applications with extreme mechanical, chemical, or thermal stresses, such as the inside of a wood-fired kiln or a furnace, which is subject to abrasion from wood, fluxing from ash or slag, and high temperatures. Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs In other, less harsh situations, such as a natural gas fired kiln, more porous bricks are a better choice. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Kilns are thermally insulated chambers or Ovens in which controlled temperature regimes are produced They are weaker, but they are much lighter, easier to form, and insulate far better than dense bricks. In any case, firebricks should not spall under rapid temperature change, and their strength should hold up well during rapid temperature changes. Spall are flakes of a material that are broken off a larger solid body and can be produced by a variety of mechanisms including as a result of Projectile impact Corrosion

To make firebrick, fireclay is baked in the kiln until it is partly vitrified, and for special purposes may also be glazed. Fire clay is a specific kind of Clay used in the manufacture of Ceramics especially Fire brick. Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a Glass -like Amorphous solid that is free from any Crystalline structure either by the quick removal Fire-bricks usually contain 30-40% aluminium oxide or alumina and 50% silicon dioxide or silica. The Chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica or silox (from the Latin " Silex " is an Oxide They can also be made of chamotte and other materials. Grog (also called firesand or chamotte) is a Ceramic raw material For bricks of extreme refractory character, the aluminium oxide content can be as high as 50-80% (with correspondingly less silica), and silicon carbide may also be present. Silicon carbide ( is a compound of Silicon and Carbon bonded together to form Ceramics but it also occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral The standard size of fire-brick is 9 x 4. 5 x 2. 5 in. (228 mm x 115 mm x 64 mm)

The silica firebricks that line steel-making furnaces are used at temperatures up to 1650 °C (3000 °F), which would melt many other types of ceramic, and in fact part of the silica firebrick liquifies. The Chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica or silox (from the Latin " Silex " is an Oxide Steel is an Alloy consisting mostly of Iron, with a Carbon content between 0 A furnace is a device used for Heating The name derives from Latin fornax, Oven. HRSI, a material with the same composition, is used to make the insulating tiles of the space shuttle. The Space Shuttle thermal protection system (TPS is the barrier that protects the Space Shuttle Orbiter during the searing 1650 °C (3000 °F) heat of NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States

A range of other materials find use as firebricks for lower temperature applications. Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature Magnesium oxide is often used as a lining for furnaces. Magnesium oxide, or magnesia, is a white solid Mineral that occurs naturally as Periclase and is a source A furnace is a device used for Heating The name derives from Latin fornax, Oven.

History

The first application of silica "tiles" within ceramic brick kilns or furnaces is credited to William Harry of the Swansea Valley, Glamorganshire, Wales in 1817. The Swansea Valley (Cwm Tawe one of the South Wales Valleys, encompasses the upper reaches of the River Tawe area in Wales, UK, upstream from Glamorgan or Glamorganshire (Morgannwg is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. Year 1817 ( MDCCCXVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Harry's invention served to vitrify the interior surface of ceramic brick built blast furnace. Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a Glass -like Amorphous solid that is free from any Crystalline structure either by the quick removal A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical Furnace used for Smelting to produce metals generally Iron. In 1820 however Quaker entrepreneur William Weston Young began experimenting with silica clay recipes, at his pottery in Nantgarw, also in Glamorganshire, for the creation of a robust, heat-proof brick from which a whole blast furnace could durably be made. Year 1820 ( MDCCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year William Weston Young (1776-1847 Quaker Entrepreneur of Bristol and Glamorganshire; artist Botanist, wreck-raiser surveyor Ceramicist, and inventor of Nantgarw is a Village in the County borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, Wales, near Cardiff. Glamorgan or Glamorganshire (Morgannwg is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical Furnace used for Smelting to produce metals generally Iron.

In 1822, Young, with three further investors, including David Morgan, John Player and (Young's brother) Joseph Young established The Dinas Firebrick Co. Year 1822 (MDCCCXXII was a Common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Sunday of the in the Vale of Neath, Glamorganshire, Wales and the first batches of firebricks began to be exported for the construction of blast furnaces across the industrialized world. Neath (Castell-nedd is a Town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a Glamorgan or Glamorganshire (Morgannwg is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical Furnace used for Smelting to produce metals generally Iron.

The Welsh word "Dinas," a reference to the hill where the silica was quarried in the upper Neath Valley, (Craig-y-Dinas, at Pontneddfechan) is synonymous with the word firebrick in many foreign languages, as a result of the extensive influence of this industry in South Wales. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic Pontneddfechan ( Welsh language meaning: bridge over the lesser River Neath is a Village in the Vale of Neath in Neath Port Talbot County South Wales (De Cymru is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south and Mid Wales and West Wales

Silica bricks were also manufactured in the upper Swansea Valley by the Penwyllt Dinas Silica Brick Co. The Swansea Valley (Cwm Tawe one of the South Wales Valleys, encompasses the upper reaches of the River Tawe area in Wales, UK, upstream from Penwyllt is a Welsh Hamlet located in the upper Swansea Valley, to the east of the Black Mountain.

See also

• Ceramics

The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos)

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