Creep in refractory materials

Refractory materials are widely used in various industrial fields due to their outstanding properties and performance in aggressive environments. However, although creep resistance is one of the most important properties for the selection of these materials, few researches were carried out focused on the fundamentals and technological understanding of their performance at high temperatures. In this context, this work addresses: 1) the creep mechanisms, 2) the mathematical models proposed for the analysis and to forecast the creep deformation at high temperature, 3) technical procedures and experimental testing, and 4) a critical analysis of some basic and practical aspects considering the literature available on this issue. Based on the collected information, mathematical models (such as the Projection theta concept) were considered as a powerful tool for the prediction of the refractories' creep behavior, helping to identify the main creep mechanisms in these materials and to induce the development of optimized compositions able to attend the end-users requirements.