Lining brick

In a lining brick for use in forming refractory linings for receptacles such as furnaces, particularly rotary kilns, said brick being of the type comprising a hot side surface adapted to be directed toward the interior of a furnace, a planar shell side surface opposite said hot side surface and adapted to contact the shell of the furnace, a first pair of spaced opposite lateral sides extending between said hot side and shell side surfaces, a second pair of spaced opposite lateral sides extending between sid hot side and shell side surfaces and converging between said shell side and hot side surfaces, and recesses opening onto said shell side surface, the improvement wherein:

• said recesses are formed in spaced opposite lateral sides of one of said pairs only;
• each said recess has a first side opening onto said shell side surface and a second side opening onto the respective lateral side of said one pair of spaced opposite lateral sides;
• each said recess is defined by a surface portion having a first end terminating at said shell side surface and a second end terminating at said respective lateral side;
• and
• the total area of said first ends of all of said recesses that lie in the plane of said shell side surface is less than the area of said shell side surface.