Study of Thermomechanical Behavior of Refractory Materials Under Thermal Gradient. Part I – Presentation of ATHORNA Device and Experimental Protocol

Improving the understanding of how a refractory material responds to thermal shocks and allowing the validation of finite element models require a valuable tool for experimental data collection.

This paper introduces an innovative, sophisticated, and highly reliable experimental device designed to apply a controlled cyclic thermal gradient in a disk-shaped ceramic refractory sample and to simultaneously monitor thermomechanical response and potential damage.

This device, named Advanced measurements for in-situ Thermomechanical monitORing of large sample uNder thermal grAdient, is based on a CO₂ laser beam to generate a calibrated thermal flux sequence at the top face while accurately measuring temperature field at the bottom face by an infrared camera. The displacement field of the bottom face is also continuously monitored by a stereo-vision system, enabling a precise measurement of 3D displacements and, thus, of the local strains. An accurate monitoring of the crack extension is performed thanks to the Two-Part Digital Image Correlation technique.

Throughout the thermal cycling sequence applied to an exemplar sample, the device has proved to be a robust and reliable system able to provide very accurate experiment data in terms of displacement, strain, temperature fields and crack length/opening.

This device represents a significant advancement in in-situ monitoring of a refractory sample and contributes to the comprehensive characterization of materials under thermal gradients. More investigations and comparison with thermomechanical Finite Element modelling are shown in a second part of this paper.