refractory

Materials resistant to decomposition under high temperatures

EntityQ1123417

Also known as refractory material

Subclass of: material
, heavy clay ceramic

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

In materials science, a refractory is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack and that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compounds that may be porous or non-porous, and their crystallinity varies widely: they may be crystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous, or composite. They are typically composed of oxides, carbides or nitrides of the following elements: silicon, aluminium, magnesium, calcium, boron, chromium and zirconium. Many refractories are ceramics, but some such as graphite are not, and some ceramics such as clay pottery are not considered refractory. Refractories are distinguished from the refractory metals, which are elemental metals and their alloys that have high melting temperatures.

Overview

All data

29 statements · 28% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Has characteristic: refractoriness

On other databases

23 identifiers linking refractory across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

28%

externally sourced

Source last edited July 12, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). refractory (Q1123417). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/refractory-Q1123417