Morgan Thermal Ceramics has announced the availability of its plastic refractory monolithics in both cast and gun grades. The Plascast? and Plasgun? materials are ideal for use in lining walls and roofs in iron and steel applications including reheat furnaces, offering an alternative to difficult to place plastic ram material that must be installed with a high pressure pneumatic hammer gun. The unique cement-free binder system in the Plascast and Plasgun products combines the advantages of a plastic refractory's thermal shock resistance with the ease and speed of placement benefits of a conventional castable.

The clay-bonded Plascast materials are supplied dry. Once mixed with water they can be installed by casting or pumping into place like a conventional castable. Compared with refractory plastics, the Plascast materials significantly reduce installation time, yet provide a high quality material with superior hot strength, thermal shock resistance and reduced drying shrinkage. The end result is a furnace lining with uniform consistency and rapid strength development throughout the working temperature range.

Plasgun is supplied as a dry powder, which is installed using conventional guniting equipment. No prewetting is required; as water is added at the nozzle, using the same techniques as guniting conventional castables. No special equipment or extremely high air pressures are required and unlike stiff plastic material, Plasgun can be gunned without the problem of high rebound.

The Plascast and Plasgun products are available with different alumina contents offering different temperature capabilities. Plasgun 60 and Plascast 60, made of 60 percent alumina, have a use limit of 3000?F (1649?C). Plascast HT and Plasgun HT, with 65 percent alumina, have a service limit of 3100?F (1704?C), and they exhibit excellent molten slag resistance in addition to thermal shock protection. Plascast 90 and Plasgun 90 are 90 per cent-alumina, plastic monolith materials with a use limit of 3100?F (1704?C).

Morgan Thermal Ceramics also offers expert engineering design support tailored to customer requirements and cost effective products and designs for specific applications.

(Kristin Nugent, Email: kristin.nugent@mgr1.com)