Refractory wall structures

A refractory wall structure built of refractory blocks and keys as a dry wall and comprising, in combination:

• a. a plurality of blocks of pre-formed refractory material, said pre-formed refractory material being dried but not fired and having sufficient strength for transportation and building, said blocks being rectangular in basic outline shape and having as high a weight as is convenient for manipulation by one operative;
• b. said blocks being arranged in a wall structure in which the blocks are laid in mutual contact in a plurality of horizontal courses with overlapping of blocks in vertically successive horizontal courses and with the blocks of each upper course resting on the blocks of the next lower course;
• c. the upper and lower faces of the blocks having complementary grooves within said faces, said grooves being mutually opposed between said vertically successive horizontal courses to form, conjointly, a horizontal tubular key-way extending along and within the wall between each of said plurality of vertically successive horizontal courses;
• d. a plurality of discrete rod-like keys of fired refractory material extending end to end horizontally through each of said tubular key-ways with a clearance but occupying respective mutually opposed grooves of adjacent blocks sufficiently to lock the respective blocks against sliding out of the plane of the wall, said keys being elongate and extending across a plurality of blocks in each course and resting with a clearance in the groove in the upper faces of the blocks of a respective lower course but projecting above said groove into the complementary groove in the lower face of the blocks of a respective upper course by a substantial part of the thickness of the keys.