Alumina-zirconia-silica: a refractory melted in an electric arc furnace and cast into blocks, typically with about 33 to 41 percent zirconia, then annealed for days. The dense, nearly pore-free blocks resist molten glass far better than bonded bricks and line glass furnace sidewalls, throats, paving and superstructure. In service a glassy phase can exude from the block, and corrosion concentrates at the metal line.
Sidewall AZS is down to 60 millimetres at the metal line, start cooling air on those blocks now.
Also heard as
- fused-cast AZS
- AZS 33
- AZS 41
Related terms
Doghouse
Small extension on a glass melting furnace where the batch is charged into the tank.
Crown
Arched refractory roof of a glass furnace or other large furnace, often built of silica brick.
Slag line
Band of a ladle or furnace lining where the slag layer floats on the metal, usually the fastest-wearing zone.
Slag attack
Chemical dissolution and penetration of a refractory by molten slag, the main wear mode in metal processing.