The service life of plug brick varies with many factors, including its material, service conditions, production technology and pouring technology. The following are the common service life ranges of plug bricks under different conditions:

I. Ordinary clay plug brick

The general service life is 1-4 times. This type of plug brick is suitable for ordinary molten steel pouring, but it is easy to be damaged when pouring at high temperature or special steel because of its limited wear resistance and erosion resistance.

II. High-alumina or zircon plug bricks

The plug bricks made of these materials have better corrosion resistance and wear resistance, and the service life is usually 6-12 hours. For example, in continuous casting tundish, the use of high-alumina or zircon plug bricks can significantly improve the service life.

III. Plug bricks made of silicon carbide composite materials

The service life of plug bricks made of composite materials such as silicon carbide can reach more than 12 hours, which can meet the requirements of multi-furnace continuous casting.

IV. The optimized plug brick

By improving the material and design, such as adding zirconia to the plug brick or adopting special production technology, the service life can be further extended. For example, by optimizing the structure and material of stopper tundish, the service life of stopper brick was increased from 15.12 hours to 30.25 hours.

V. Plug bricks for continuous casting tundish

In continuous casting tundish, the service life of plug bricks is usually 16-24 hours. By optimizing the design and material, such as adding proper amount of zirconia to the slag line and rod head of the plug brick, its corrosion resistance can be significantly improved.

VI. Factors affecting service life

Material: plug bricks made of high alumina, zircon and silicon carbide have better corrosion resistance and wear resistance and longer service life.

Production technology: using unfired technology or composite plug brick can reduce production cost and improve service life.

Service conditions: High temperature and high corrosive environment will shorten the service life of plug bricks. For example, when pouring high-temperature molten steel or special steel, the plug bricks made of ordinary materials are easy to be damaged.

Design optimization: By optimizing the shape, size and matching mode of plug bricks, wear and erosion can be reduced and service life can be prolonged.

In a word, the service life of plug brick depends on many factors such as its material, production technology, use conditions and design optimization. By selecting suitable materials and design, the service life of the product can be significantly improved, thus reducing the production cost and improving the production efficiency.