Designation: C 201 93 (Reapproved 1998)

Standard Test Method for

Thermal Conductivity of Refractories1

This standard is issued under the fixed designation C 201; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

required for selecting their thermal transmission characteristics. Users select refractories to provide specified conditions of
heat loss and cold face temperature, without exceeding the
temperature limitation of the refractory. This test method
establishes the testing for thermal conductivity of refractories
using the calorimeter.
3.2 This procedure requires a large thermal gradient and
steady state conditions. The results are based upon a mean
temperature.
3.3 The data from this test method are suitable for specification acceptance, and design of multi-layer refractory construction.
3.4 The use of these data requires consideration of the actual
application environment and conditions.

1. Scope
1.1 This test method covers the determination of the comparative thermal conductivity of refractories under standardized conditions of testing. This test method is designed for
refractories having a conductivity factor of not more than 200
Btuin./hft2F (2818 W/mK), for a thickness of 1 in. (25 mm).
1.2 Detailed ASTM test methods to be used in conjunction
with this procedure in testing specific types of refractory
materials are as follows: Test Method C 182, Test Method
C 202, Test Method C 417, and Test Method C 767.
1.3 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded
as the standard. The values in parentheses are provided for
information only.
1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

4. Apparatus
4.1 The apparatus shall conform in close detail with that
shown in the approved drawings.4 The equipment is shown in
Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, and the essential parts are as follows:
4.1.1 Heating ChamberA heating chamber, shown in Fig.
3, shall be capable of being heated electrically over a temperature range from 400 to 2800F (205 to 1540C) in a neutral or
oxidizing atmosphere. The temperature of the heating unit shall
be controlled by a mechanism capable of maintaining the
temperature in the chamber constant to within 65F (63C). A
silicon carbide slab 1312 by 9 by 1 in. (342 by 228 by 25 mm),
with the 1312 by 9-in. (342 by 228 mm) faces plane and
parallel, shall be placed above the sample for the purpose of
providing uniform heat distribution. A layer of insulation
equivalent at least to 1 in. (25 mm) of Group 20 insulating
firebrick (see Classification C 155) shall be placed below the
calorimeter and guard plates.
4.1.2 Calorimeter AssemblyA copper calorimeter assembly, of the design shown in Fig. 4, shall be used for measuring
the quantity of heat flowing through the test specimen. The
water circulation is such that adjacent passages contain incoming and outgoing streams of water. The calorimeter shall be 3
by 3 in. (76 by 76 mm) square and shall have one inlet and one

2. Referenced Documents
2.1 ASTM Standards:
C 134 Test Methods for Size, Dimensional Measurements,
and Bulk Density of Refractory Brick and Insulating
Firebrick2
C 155 Classification of Insulating Firebrick2
C 182 Test Method for Thermal Conductivity of Insulating
Firebrick2
C 202 Test Method for Thermal Conductivity of Refractory
Brick2
C 417 Test Method for Thermal Conductivity of Unfired
Monolithic Refractories2
C 767 Test Method for Thermal Conductivity of Carbon
Refractories2
E 220 Method for Calibration of Thermocouples by Comparison Techniques3
3. Significance and Use
3.1 The thermal conductivity of refractories is a property
1
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee C-8 on
Refractories and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee C08.02 on Thermal
Stress Resistance.
Current edition approved June 15, 1993. Published August 1993. Originally
published as C 201 45. Last previous edition C 201 86e1.
2
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 15.01.
3
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 14.03.

4
The complete set of approved drawings necessary for the construction of the
apparatus and suggested operating instructions, each of which requires too much
space to be included with this test method, were originally drafted by the Insulating
Products Division of Babcock and Wilcox Co. ASTM has been advised that these
drawings are no longer available. Subcommittee C08 .05 currently is taking this
issue under advisement.

Copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.

C 201
SpecimenCalibrated5 thermocouples shall be embedded in
the test specimen for measuring the temperature. The
electromo-tive force (emf) for the temperature readings shall
be taken with a potentiometer having an instrument error of not
more than 60.05 mV, and the cold junctions of the thermocouples shall be immersed in a mixture of ice and water.
4.1.5 Instrument for Measuring Temperature Rise in Calorimeter WaterA multiple differential thermocouple shall be
used for measuring6 within an accuracy of not less than 1 % of
the temperature rise of the water flowing through the calorimeter. The thermocouple shall be immersed at least 312 in. (89
mm) in the inlet and outlet connections, and the junctions shall
be not more than 14in. (6 mm) distant from the bottom of the
calorimeter. A calibrated differential 10X copper-constantan
thermocouple shall be used, and the millivolt readings shall be
taken with a potentiometer having an instrument error of not
more than 60.01 mV in the range between 0 and 2 mV.
4.1.6 Instruments for Measuring Temperature Difference
Between Calorimeter and Inner GuardCalibrated differential
10X copper-constantan thermocouples shall be located in the
calorimeter and inner guard for measuring6 the temperature
differences between the calorimeter and inner guard. The
temperature difference during a test shall be maintained at a
value less than 60.05F (60.03C). The thermocouple junctions shall be placed in the four wells provided for that
purpose, and millivolt readings shall be taken with a potentiometer having an instrument error of not more than 60.01 mV
in the range between 0 and 2 mV.
5. Test Sample and Its Preparation
5.1 Test SampleThe test sample shall consist of three 9-in.
(228-mm) straight brick and six 9 by 212 by 214-in. (228 by 64
by 57-mm) soap brick (Note 2) that are representative of the
material being tested. These brick shall be selected for uniformity of structure and bulk density, and they shall be free of
broken corners or edges. One brick shall be used as the test
specimen, and one each of the other two brick shall be used as
guard brick on either side of the specimen. The six soap brick
shall be placed around the edges of the test specimen and guard
brick to prevent side flow of heat. The test specimen and guard
brick shall cover an area of approximately 18 by 1312 in. (456
by 342 mm).

NOTE 1The upper half of the heating chamber has been raised to
permit introduction of the test samples.
FIG. 1 Photograph of Thermal Conductivity Apparatus

outlet water connection. The inner guard surrounding the

calorimeter shall be 1312 by 9 in. (342 by 228 mm) and shall
have two inlet and two outlet water connections. The outer
guard shall extend 2 in. (51 mm) laterally from the inner guard
and shall extend vertically to the member comprising the
bottom of the heating chamber (see Fig. 3). The separation
between the calorimeter and the inner guard shall be 132 in. (0.8
mm).
4.1.3 Water-Circulating SystemA water-circulating system shall be provided for supplying the calorimeter assembly
with water at constant pressure and at a temperature that is not
changing at a rate greater than 1F (0.5C)/h. The inlet water
pressure shall be at least the equivalent of 10 ft of hydrostatic
pressure (29.9 kPa). The inlet water temperature shall at all
times be within +5F (+3C) or 2F (1C) of the room
temperature. Fig. 5 shows the arrangement that shall be used
for meeting these conditions. The regulating valves for controlling the rate of water flow through the calorimeter assembly
shall be capable of maintaining a constant rate of flow within
61 % during the test period.
4.1.4 Instruments for Measuring Temperature of

NOTE 1A total of nine 9-in. (228-mm) straight brick may be submitted for test, six of which would be cut to obtain the soap brick.

5.2 Preparation of Test SampleThe 9 by 412-in. (228 by

114-mm) faces of the three straight brick and the 9 by 214-in.
(228 by 57-mm) faces of the soap brick shall be ground flat and
parallel, and the thickness shall not vary more than 60.01 in.
(60.3 mm). The thickness shall be not more than 3 (76 mm)
nor less than 2 in. (51 mm). The sides that are to be placed in
contact shall be ground flat and at right angles to the 9 by

Method E 220 specifies calibration procedures for thermocouples.

The following procedures are recommended: Roeser, W. F., Thermoelectric
Thermometry, and Roeser, W. F., and Wensel, H. T., Methods of Testing
Thermocouples and Thermocouple Materials, Temperature, Its Measurement and
Control, Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, NY, 1941, pp. 180 and 284,
respectively.
6

C 201

AConstant-head water supply.

BInlet manifold and thermometer.
CCirculating pump.
DTo drain.
ECooling coil.
FWater filter.
GCenter calorimeter.
HInner guard calorimeter.
IOuter guard calorimeter.

JMicroregulating valves.
LWater-level valve.
MMagnetic control valve.
NOutlet manifold.
OOverflow pipe.
TThermostat (controls M).
VValves.
WWater inlet.

FIG. 2 Diagram Showing Essential Parts of Thermal Conductivity Apparatus

412-in. face of the brick and the 9 by 214-in. face of the soap
brick.

exception that the thickness measurement shall be made in

accordance with those methods.

NOTE 2Additional instructions are given in the methods of test for

specific materials (see Section 7) concerning the preparation of the
specimen, placing of guard brick, and the like.

7. Procedure
7.1 Use the procedures for testing specific types of refractory materials as described in the following test methods: Test
Method C 182, Test Method C 202, Test Method C 417, and
Test Method C 767.

6. Bulk Density of Test Specimen

6.1 The test specimen shall be dried at 220 to 230F (105 to
110C) for 12 h, after which time its bulk density, in pounds
per cubic foot (or kilograms per cubic metre) shall be determined in accordance with Test Methods C 134, with the

8. Record of Test Data

8.1 Record the following data, and record 8.1.3 to 8.1.7 for
3

C 201

NOTE 1When testing insulating firebrick, the back-up insulation is removed.

FIG. 3 Diagrammatic Section Through Heating Chamber

FIG. 4 Design of Calorimeter and Guard Rings

each 2-h test period (steady state of heat flow):

8.1.1 Linear dimensions of test specimen,
8.1.2 Distance between thermocouple junctions located in
the test specimen,
8.1.3 Three sets of temperature readings as measured by the
thermocouples in the test specimen,

8.1.4 Mean temperature between each pair of thermocouples in the test specimen as calculated from the temperatures recorded in 8.1.3,
8.1.5 Average rise in temperature of the water flowing
through the calorimeter,

C 201
10. Report
10.1 The report shall include the following:
10.1.1 Brand name or other identifying information,
10.1.2 Bulk density of the dried test specimen (see Section
6),
10.1.3 General description of the test specimen before and
after test with respect to possible structural changes caused by
exposing the test specimen to the heating chamber temperatures.
10.1.4 The thermal conductivity data as calculated in accordance with Section 8 at the mean temperatures recorded during
a 2-h holding period with a steady state of heat flow, and
reported at the mean of the two temperatures used in the
calculation.
10.1.5 A curve showing the actual thermal conductivity
values obtained versus mean temperatures, and
10.1.6 When requested, the data recorded for Section 8 shall
be included in the report.
11. Precision and Bias

CCirculating pump.
DTo drain.
ECooling coil.
FWater filter.
GCenter calorimeter.
HInner guard calorimeter.
IOuter guard calorimeter.

11.1 Interlaboratory Test Data:

11.1.1 Results of round-robin tests between four laboratories on three varieties of refractory material ranging in k-value
from 2 to 165 were evaluated.
11.1.2 Polynomial regressions were established by computer, and the residual sum of squares and degree of freedom
were summated for the within-laboratory variances. Betweenlaboratory variances were calculated from the regression
curves of the four laboratories at four mean temperatures
(500F, 1000F, 1500F, and 2000F).
11.1.3 The components of variance for the thermal conductivity, k, (Btuin./hft2F) expressed as coefficients of variations were:
Within laboratories, Vw= 3.4 %
Between laboratories, Vb= 9.0 %
11.2 PrecisionFor the components of variation given in
11.1, two averages of test values will be considered significantly different at the 95 % probability level if the difference
equals or exceeds the critical differences listed as follows: (t =
1.96)

LWater-level valve.
MMagnetic control valve.
OOverflow pipe.
TThermostat (controls M).
VValves.
WWater inlet.

FIG. 5 Water-Circulating System with Automatic Temperature

Control

8.1.6 Average rate of water flow through the calorimeter,

and
8.1.7 Rate of heat flow through the test specimen per unit
area.
9. Calculation
9.1 Calculate the thermal conductivity as follows:

No. of Samples in Each

Average

@k 5 qL /@A~ t1 2 t2!#

( n)
1
2
3
5

where:
k = thermal conductivity, Btuin./hft 2F (or W/mK),
q = Btu/h flowing into the calorimeter (temperature rise, F
(K) of the water flowing through the calorimeter times
the weight of flowing water, lb/h (or W)),
L = thickness (distance between hot junctions at which t 1
and t2 are measured), in. (or m),
t1 = higher of two temperatures measured in the test
specimen, F (or K),
t2 = lower of two temperatures measured in the test specimen, F (or K), and
A = area of center calorimeter, ft 2(or m2).

Critical differences, % of grand average k (Btuin./

hft2F)
within-lab
between-lab
precision
precision, %
9.4 %
26.6
6.6 %
25.8
5.5 %
25.5
4.2 %
25.0

11.3 Supplemental Interlaboratory Data One refractory

material was tested by four laboratories in which the thermocouples were permanently affixed by one laboratory. Polynomial regression equations on these data revealed the following
components of variance:
Within laboratories, Vw= 3.1 %
Between laboratories, Vb= 2.3 %
12. Keywords
12.1 calorimeter; refractories; thermal conductivity
5

C 201
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