Optimizing Thermal Shock Resistance of Layered Refractories

Severe thermal shocks may cause critical thermal stresses and failure in refractories or ceramic materials. To increase the thermal shock resistance, layered material structures are suggested. In order to optimize properties of these alternative structures, thermo-mechanical simulations are required. In this study, a finite difference method (FDM) is used for solving the partial differential equation of heat conduction with spatially varying parameters. The optimization of the strip's thermal shock resistance is exemplarily done on a 10 layered strip subjected to constant temperature jump on the top surface. Each layer can be set with different porous Al2O3 and MgO ceramics, whose material properties are theoretically determined. In this study, an improved optimization method is developed that consists of a combination and sequence of Monte Carlo simulations and evolution strategies to overcome certain disadvantages of both techniques.