Zirconia Series Refractory Bricks

Sintered AZS Brick

Name: Sintered AZS Brick
Brand: XZK

Sintered AZS bricks are alumina-zirconia-silica refractories formed by pressing and sintering rather than casting. Grade XZK-SAZS30 carries at least 48% Al2O3 and 30% ZrO2 in a mullite-bonded zirconia-corundum structure, and is specified where a dense, joint-tight refractory must contact glass...

Al₂O₃:≥48%

ZrO₂:≥30%

Bulk density:≥3.2g/cm³

Cold crushing strength:≥90MPa

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Sintered AZS Brick Overview

Sintered AZS bricks are alumina-zirconia-silica refractories formed by pressing and sintering rather than casting. Grade XZK-SAZS30 carries at least 48% Al₂O₃ and 30% ZrO₂ in a mullite-bonded zirconia-corundum structure, and is specified where a dense, joint-tight refractory must contact glass without the exudable glassy phase of a fused-cast block.

XZK Group produces XZK-SAZS30 at our Xinmi plant in Henan. In a glass furnace it appears at the doghouse, the throat, the burner port neck, the tank bottom and the superstructure, frequently as the sintered counterpart to fused cast AZS in the same lining.

What Is a Sintered AZS Brick?

The difference between sintered and fused AZS is the manufacturing route and the phase structure that results. Fused-cast AZS is melted in an arc furnace, poured into a mould and annealed; it contains a residual glassy phase and is graded by the amount of that phase and by casting method. Sintered AZS is pressed from zirconia, alumina and silica raw materials and bonded by reaction sintering, so the body is ceramic-bonded with a fine, uniform grain structure and no free glass phase able to exude into the melt.

The consequence is a brick that will not weep glassy phase into the glass bath, cannot introduce the blowholes and stones that cast material can produce, and holds a more consistent porosity across its whole cross-section than a casting whose soundness varies from the dense face to the shrinkage cavity. Iron oxide is held to 0.5% and apparent porosity to 17% or below, with a bulk density of at least 3.2 g/cm³.

Its limits are set by the same route. Cold crushing strength of at least 90 MPa and refractoriness under load of at least 1620°C are lower than a fused-cast block, so sintered AZS is chosen for positions that need thermal and chemical stability with low contamination risk rather than the maximum possible corrosion resistance. Where direct melt contact at the flux line demands the hardest material available, fused cast AZS takes that duty and sintered AZS works beside it.

Key Properties

ZrO₂ ≥ 30% and Al₂O₃ ≥ 48% in a mullite-bonded zirconia-corundum structure, the same chemistry family as fused AZS by a different route.
No exudable glassy phase. The ceramic bond removes the source of glass-phase exudation, blowholes and stones that can affect glass quality at the conditioning stage.
Bulk density ≥ 3.2 g/cm³ with apparent porosity ≤ 17%, giving the tight body needed to seal joints against melt and vapour penetration.
Cold crushing strength ≥ 90 MPa, adequate for load-bearing courses in the bottom, doghouse and superstructure of the tank.
Refractoriness under load ≥ 1620°C (0.2 MPa, T0.6), keeping the brick dimensionally stable in sustained high-temperature service.
Low iron of 0.5% Fe₂O₃ maximum, limiting contamination of sensitive glass compositions.

Technical Specifications

Technical Properties	Test Conditions	XZK-SAZS30
Al₂O₃ (%)	-	≥ 48
ZrO₂ (%)	-	≥ 30
Fe₂O₃ (%)	-	≤ 0.5
Bulk Density (g/cm³)	-	≥ 3.2
Apparent Porosity (%)	-	≤ 17
Cold Crushing Strength (MPa)	-	≥ 90
Refractoriness Under Load (℃)	0.2MPa, T0.6	≥ 1620

Test methods follow GB/T and ISO practice; ASTM equivalents and full certificates of analysis are issued with every shipment.

Available Grades and How to Choose

XZK-SAZS30 is a single, closely controlled grade rather than a family, because the value of the material lies in the consistency of its pressed and sintered structure: 30% ZrO₂ minimum, 48% Al₂O₃ minimum, 0.5% Fe₂O₃ maximum, bulk density 3.2 g/cm³ and above, porosity 17% and below.

Grade selection is therefore a question of position rather than of grade ladder. Use sintered AZS where the glass must stay free of exudation and where the thermal and chemical load sits inside the 1620°C refractoriness-under-load envelope; move to fused cast AZS at the flux line, the throat and any position where the highest corrosion resistance is the deciding factor.

Industry Applications

- Core Areas of Glass Melting Furnaces: The bottom - laying bricks in the melting section resist the scouring of high - temperature glass melt, and the nose area of the L - shaped suspended wall copes with complex thermal stresses.
- Heat - exchange System: The checkerwork of the regenerator realizes an efficient heat - storage and heat - release cycle.
- Custom - made for Special Parts: Wedge - shaped/arc - shaped bricks can be processed for special parts such as port openings and forehearths.

Where Sintered AZS Bricks Are Used in a Glass Furnace

Sintered AZS is used in the furnace positions where glass contact demands low contamination, and in structural zones where a sintered body can be laid tight against fused-cast material.

Doghouse and charging end. Batch is charged here through the surface of the melt, creating splashing, thermal cycling and batch dust abrasion. Sintered AZS resists the chemistry without adding an exudable phase to the bath.
Throat. The throat carries the highest melt velocity in the furnace, where abrasion and thermal shock combine. Sintered AZS is used in throat construction and hanging walls where contamination-free contact is required.
Burner port neck and port floor. The port neck is cycled between flame and secondary air, and sintered AZS handles the thermal cycling while resisting alkali attack from the flame side.
Superstructure and breastwall. In end-fired furnaces sintered AZS appears in the breastwall alongside mullite and corundum mullite materials, and in target and gable walls under localised thermal load.
Tank bottom paving and sub-layer. Sintered AZS is used above or beside the zircon barrier; it works with dense zircon bricks and a zircon ramming mass sealing layer to close the bottom structure against upward drilling.
Forehearth channel blocks. Channel blocks in contact with the melt must not exude or bubble, and the sintered AZS body is used where the melt chemistry and temperature fall inside its service window.

Manufacturing and Quality Control

Manufacturing is controlled from raw material through to finished brick. Four automatic batching lines feed 20 CNC presses ranging from 630 to 2000 tonnes, so density is set by press force rather than operator judgement, and firing runs through four 108-metre fully automatic tunnel kilns and five ultra-high-temperature shuttle kilns for a uniform soak.

Every batch is tested for bulk density, apparent porosity, cold crushing strength and refractoriness under load, and ships with a certificate of analysis. XZK Group holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001 certification and operates the Henan Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Sintered Refractories for Glass Furnaces.

Related Refractory Products

Sintered AZS bricks are supplied alongside fused cast AZS bricks and AZS ramming mass in the melting end, with zircon bricks and zircon ramming mass in the bottom, and with corundum mullite bricks in the superstructure. See the AZS bricks range for zoning guidance or browse all refractory products.

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About XZK Group

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Product Portfolio

Specializing in premium zircon, corundum, sintered AZS, and monolithics. With a $70M+ annual output, we deliver durable linings for global high-temp industries.

Capacity

✔ 4 automated microcomputer batching systems.

✔ 4 ultra-high-temp tunnel kilns & 5 shuttle kilns.

✔ 20+ CNC hydraulic presses (630-1500T).

✔ Digitalized workshops with 100,000T annual capacity.