deformation limits on urm refractory brick 9fire brick0

huangyhg

deformation limits on urm refractory brick (fire brick)
i am looking for general structural information on refractory brick (fire brick).  specifically, i am evaluating large coke ovens that are experiencing differential settlement.  i would like to find information on strength and deformation capacities for these types of systems.  anything will help.  thanks.
i have a second edition copy of the h-b (harbison-walker)handbook of refractory practice. h-b is a division of dresser industries, inc, pittsburgh pa (at least it was in 1980).  briefly looking through it i find that there are numerous different types of refractory products each having their own mechanical properties.  you will need to identify the material that you are considering.  i can't begin to guesstimate what type you have - do you have anything specific that you could give me?  if so contact me at
you will need to do specific tests on the bricks to deternine their stress-strain behaviour in compression. in general the behaviour is non-linear and highly temperature dependent. you will need specialised equipment in order to do these tests or send samples off to laboratories who specialise in these methods. ceram in the uk is one organisation who can do this if you can't do it yourself at
thanks for the tips.  i am looking for general performance criteria for the entire refractory system, rather than on a unit-by-unit basis.  i suppose i wasn't clear on that.  for instance, i am interested in typical allowable differential settlement ratios for these systems and how those relate to different levels of structural performance. do cracks matter?  how big can they be?  is this thing about to fall down? those sorts of questions.  similar to performance-based earthquake engineering (ie: fema 356, 310, etc) but for differential settlement.  
i am developing a simple tool to be used by other, possibly less tech-savvy, people.  for example, if the cracks are x big - no problem.  if your differential settlement is greater that y - get it checked by an engineer, you could be in possible danger.
i am developing two pieces of the puzzle:  an index characterizing behavior, and an index relating that behavior to structural performance (safety).
any thoughts out there?
a crack x big may work fine structurally, but if fire is shooting through it, i'd say its not working well at all.
hey-o!