[Stoves] Stove Material Properties

[Tae Young Lee]

Hello everyone,

Could someone explain the contribution of the stove material properties to its
performance?

i am working with clay in particular and my understanding is that the  
heat transfer coefficient is what determines the stove wall's  
insulation performance and the thermal conductivity is what determines  
the temperature difference between different parts of the stove wall.  
and the tensile strength is what determines when the stove will crack.

from what i've learned, for clay stoves, the two major aspects are the thermal
performance and longevity of life(prevention of cracking).

for thermal performance:
thermal insulation(low heat transfer coefficient) is important

for prevention of cracking:
high thermal conductivity(so that the temperature within the walls  
will be relatively constant, preventing cracks from occuring due to  
different thermal expansion in different areas)
low thermal expansion(to prevent cracking)
and high tensile strength to withstand thermal expansion

if anyone can comment and provide me with insight, i would be grateful.
thank you very much.

-- 
Tae Young Lee

PhD Candidate
Mechanical Engineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Columbia University