Glossary
- Alkalies Any of various bases like hydroxides of sodium, potassium and lithium which neutralize acids.
- Alumina An oxide of aluminum.
- Andalusite A mineral consisting of alumina and silica.
- Bauxite A rock consisting of hydrous aluminum oxide with various impurities; the principal ore of aluminum, and raw material for mullite and high-alumina refractories.
- Blister Copper A partially refined form of copper, having a blistered surface after smelting due to the gases generated during solidification.
- BOF Basic Oxygen Furnace (For steelmaking).
- BOP Basic Oxygen Process (For steelmaking).
- Bosh The section of a blast furnace between the hearth and the stack, where iron ore is reduced to iron metal.
- Bustle Pipe Large refractory lined pipe which encircles a blast furnace and supplies hot air (blast).
- Calcined Bauxite Bauxite fired to high temperatures.
- Ceramic A broad term for products such as pottery and bricks from heat resistant non-metallic, inorganic materials such as clay, bauxite, alumina, silica, magnesia, silicon carbide and the like.
- Charging Insertion of a load of material into a furnace.
- Checkerwork An arrangement of preformed refractory shapes in which waste heat is stored and recovered.
- Chromite A mineral containing oxides of chromium, iron, aluminum, and magnesium.
- Clinker A mass of incombustible matter fused together, as in the production of cement or the burning of coal.
- Coke The solid product resulting from the incomplete combustion of coal, consisting principally of carbon; used chiefly as a fuel in metallurgy to reduce metallic oxides to metal.
- Crown A furnace roof, especially one which is arched.
- Cupola A vertical furnace for melting iron.
- Cyclone A device for removing small or powdered solids from air, water, or other gases or liquids by centrifugal force.
- Dead-Burned To heat a material to a temperature where the gases and volatile substances contained in it are driven off to produce a stable granular product.
- Diaspore A mineral, aluminum hydroxide.
- Dolomite A mineral, calcium magnesium carbonate.
- Eutectic The mixture of two or more components whose melting point is lower than that of any individual component.
- Extruded The forming of materials such as clay to a desired cross section by forcing it through a die.
- Fireclay An earthy or stony mineral aggregate which has as the essential constituent hydrous silicates of aluminum with or without free silica; plastic when sufficiently pulverized and wetted; rigid when subsequently dried; and of suitable refractoriness for use in commercial refractory products.
- Fettling The protection of the hearth or original lining of a furnace with loose granular refractory material.
- Flue Any duct or passage for air or gas in a furnace.
- Kiln A furnace for burning or firing ceramic, refractory materials or products.
- LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas.
- Magnesia Magnesium oxide.
- Magnesite A mineral consisting essentially of magnesium carbonate.
- Monolithic Made of a single piece or as a continuous structure without separate sections.
- Mullite, Synthetic A compound of alumina and silica stable at high temperatures.
- PCE Pyrometric Cone Equivalent - Designation of time-temperature, effect of heat on ceramic material.
- Paver Blocks A refractory brick shape used to form the bottom working lining of furnaces or abrasion resistant floors.
- Periclase A crystalline form of magnesium oxide.
- Perlite A volcanic glass which expands on heating and forms a useful insulating aggregate.
- Plastic (As an adjective) Capable of being molded or shaped readily into a form.
- Reduce (Reduction) To deoxidize or convert oxidized ores to metals.
- Refractoriness The ability to retain physical shape and chemical identity in the presence of high temperatures.
- Refractory A material having the ability to retain its physical shape and chemical identity when subjected to high temperatures.
- Regenerator A chamber filled with checkerwork through which incoming combustion air and hot exhaust gases pass alternately so that the heat from the gases is stored in the checkerwork and given off to the air.
- Reverberatory A furnace or kiln in which the flame passes over the charge to be heated.
- Schists Crystalline rocks whose constituent minerals are arranged in layers which are easily separated.
- Silica The oxide of silicon, the major chemical constituent of sand.
- Siliceous A material containing silica.
- Silicon Carbide A hard compound of silicon and carbon used as an abrasive or refractory grain or electrical resistor.
- Sillimanite A mineral, consisting of alumina and silica.
- Sintering The agglomeration of particles by heating; the material need not be completely melted.
- Skew Block A sloping, shaped block against which the end of an arch rests.
- Slag Melted matter separated during the reduction of a metal from its ore.
- slip A suspension of creamy consistency used for casting.
- Soda Sodium carbonate or sodium oxide sometimes called soda ash; a major constituent in glass.
- Spalling The cracking or flaking of particles from a surface, especially when subjected to rapid temperature change.
- Stills An apparatus consisting of a vessel in which a liquid is heated and vaporized and a cooling device for condensing the vapor.
- Stoker A mechanical device for feeding coal or other solid fuels to a furnace.
- Thermal Conductivity A measure of the capacity of a material to conduct heat.
- Tuyere An opening through which the blast of air enters a blast furnace, cupola or forge to facilitate combustion.
- Vermiculite Minerals similar to mica which expand greatly when heated; used in the expanded state for heat insulation.
- Vitrification The melting of materials to form a glass; to make or, become glassy.
- Zircon A mineral, zirconium silicate; used as a refractory.
- Zirconia A zirconium oxide used as pigment for paints and in the manufacture of refractories.
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