A type of clay that is able to withstand intense heat, used to make firebricks, crucibles, and other objects that are exposed to high temperatures.
fire clay
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Dictionary:
fire clay fire·clay (fīr'klā') |
| 5min Related Video: fire clay |
| Architecture: fire clay |
Clay having a melting point above 1600 degrees centigrade, especially used for making fire bricks.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: fire clay |
fire clay, clay that has a high degree of resistance to heat. By the best standards it should have a fusion point higher than 1,600°C. The term “fire clay” is commonly held to exclude kaolin and other refractory potter's clays. Fire clay should contain high percentages of silica and alumina, with as little as possible of such impurities as lime, magnesia, soda, and potash, which lower the fusion point of the clay. Fire clay often forms the bed layer of earth under seams of coal. Two types are recognized—flint clay, exceedingly hard, nonplastic, and resembling flint in appearance, occurring in the United States; and plastic fire clay. The principal uses of fire clay are in the manufacture of firebrick and of various accessory utensils, such as crucibles, saggers, retorts, and glass pots, used in the metalworking industries.
| Wikipedia: Fire clay |
Fire clay is a specific kind of clay used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The fire attribution is given for its refractory characteristics. There are two types of fire clay: flint clay and plastic fire clay.
It is resistant to high temperatures, has a fusion point higher than 1,600°C, and therefore it is suitable for lining furnaces, as fire brick, and manufacture of utensils used in the metalworking industries, such as crucibles, saggars, retorts, and glassware. Because of its stability during firing in the kiln, it can be used to make complex items of pottery such as pipes and sanitary ware. Its chemical composition consists of a high percentage of silicon and aluminium oxides, and a low percentage of the oxides of sodium, potassium, and calcium. Unlike conventional brick-making clay, it is mined at depth, usually found as a seatearth associated with coal measures.
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Fire clay". Read more |
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