StructuralQ We have a client who wants to reline the surface of a brick drying room made from bricks and used to dry bricks. The temperature doesn’t exceed 400°F (200°C). Apart from the usual shotcrete best practice, do you recommend the addition of any additives to make the shotcrete/reinforcement more suitable for the heating and cooling cycles?
Generally, sand/cement in standard concrete mixtures starts breaking down around 400 to 500°F (200 to 260°C) because the portland cement starts to dehydrate. It loses strength with every phase and will have no strength after 1000°F (540°C). Putting it on brick depends on the shape of the brick surface. Uneven surfaces with holes will hold much better than flat brick. If the brick is flat, placing more than a couple of inches (±50 mm) may delaminate and fall off the wall without anchors of some sort. You could probably use a 2 x 2 in. (50 x 50 mm) or 3 x 3 in. (75 x 75 mm) mesh. In refractory, we consider low temperatures at 1700 to 1800°F (930 to 980°C). In the higher temperature refractory, we use calcium aluminate cement and “traprock,” which is a fine crushed limestone aggregate. The mixture ratios would be the same as a typical sand and cement gunning mixture. This is what traditionally has been for coal bunkers and coal dryers or any other sections in the 1700°F (930°C)-plus temperature range.
