Transient Thermo-Mechanical Analysis of Steel Ladle Refractory Linings Using Mechanical Homogenization Approach

Mortarless refractory masonry structures are widely used in the steel industry for the linings of many high-temperature industrial applications including steel ladles. The design and optimization of these components require accurate numerical models that consider the presence of joints, as well as joint closure and opening due to cyclic heating and cooling. The present work reports on the formulation, numerical implementation, validation, and application of homogenized numerical models for the simulation of refractory masonry structures with dry joints. The validated constitutive model has been used to simulate a steel ladle and analyze its transient thermomechanical behavior during a typical thermal cycle of a steel ladle. A 3D solution domain and enhanced thermal and mechanical boundary conditions have been used. Parametric studies to investigate the impact of joint thickness on the thermomechanical response of the ladle have been carried out. The results clearly demonstrate that the thermomechanical behavior of mortarless masonry is orthotropic and nonlinear due to the gradual closure and reopening of the joints with the increase and decrease in temperature. In addition, resulting thermal stresses increase with the increase in temperature and decrease with the increase in joint thickness.