Thermal cycling behaviour in Kenyan kaolinite thermal insulators

Abstract

The thermal shock and thermal fatigue behaviour of a Kenyan kaolinite clay used in firewood jikos and in kiln linings has been studied. The thermal shock R parameters have been measured for the material. Also measured are the Weibull modulus m and the slow crack _ propagation parameter n. Addition of grog to the raw clay has been observed to affect the thermal shock severity LiT that reduces the initial cross-breaking strength by J 0% The prediction of the thermal fatigue lift for this material has hence been estimated.