INSURAL ATL are a range of insulating ladle linings suitable for aluminium and zinc foundries. They are supplied ready for useto transport molten aluminium and zinc alloys. A variety of shapes and sizes are available up to a maximum of 2 tonnes for both standard and non-standard steel ladle shells.

INSURAL ladle linings are made from a strong, lightweight and non-wetting refractory material which also possesses excellent insulation properties. INSURAL 140 is used for the walls and the more wear resistant INSURAL 180-1 for the base.

Supplied as ready for use units, they require only a brief pre-heating following installation to remove any possible moisture pick-up. After this, further pre-heat before use is only necessary if the ladle has remained empty and cold over fairly prolonged periods.

INSURAL ATL linings should always be used in combination with INSURAL 10 backing material. This will keep the lining in place in the steel shell. The space between the steel shell and the lining should be approximately 25 mm to leave sufficient space for the backing.

The ladle lining is bedded on to a layer of INSURAL 10 material approximately 25 mm in thickness. Level the material and insert the lining, ensuring that is it placed in the centre of the steel shell. Further INSURAL 10 material is poured between the sides of the liner and the ladle shell, finishing off with some INSURAL 800 mastic to seal the top. Heat is supplied from the base to the trigger an exothermic reaction and hardening of the backing material.

Transport ladles lined with INSURAL ATL are especially well suited for degassing with FDU devices.

The excellent insulating properties of INSURAL become obvious when comparing it to a standard refractory concrete with regards to heat transfer. Despite the relatively small wall thickness of the INSURAL lined ladle, the external wall temperature is significantly lower. Given rising energy costs, this is a strong argument for using INSURAL.


INSURAL ATL ladle linings are precast and supplied fully fired. The non-wetting properties ensure that aluminium skullformation is reduced and simple to remove, preventing cross contamination between metal transfers. Oxide build-up is avoided reducing the risk of hard inclusions in the melt.

Furthermore, traditional linings frequently require the melt to be superheated to offset temperature loss promoting oxide formation and higher dissolved hydrogen levels.

The use of a suitable refractory coating such as CERAMOL 258G or TERRACOTE 7667 can further improve the ladle lining cleanliness.


More and more foundries are using central melting and carrying out metal treatment in the transfer ladle so that casting can begin quickly after transfer. For such foundries insulation and temperature loss is an important issue. An INSURAL ATL lining system will only have a temperature loss of around 3 deg C per minute.


INSURAL ATL does not suffer from thermal shock. Preheating is only required on first use or after prolonged periods of inactivity. INSURAL ATL transfer ladles are available in sizes up to 2 tonnes and with larger ladles significant impact is experienced on filling. This impact will often be focused on the same position every time and so the ladle bottom can erode. Larger INSURAL ATL ladles are supplied with INSURAL 180 wear plates to avoid this erosion.

In spite of this, with proper handling, ladle lives of several months are not uncommon.