Refractories, Furnace Linings & Foundry Consumables worked example

Material Shrinkage at 65% effective yield after shrinkage losses: a worked example in refractories, furnace linings & foundry consumables

Suppose effective yield after shrinkage losses falls to 65%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Material Shrinkage estimates the effective hourly throughput of a foundry or refractory casting line after accounting for the volume lost when a casting or a refractory shape shrinks and consolidates as it solidifies, dries, and sinters.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Finished castings or lining pieces produced: 1,200 units (held at the documented default)
  • Production or cure runtime: 8 hr (held at the documented default)
  • Effective yield after shrinkage losses: 65 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 90)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Raw material shrinkage = completed output รท runtime.
  • Effective throughput works out to 97.5 units at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Raw throughput works out to 150 units at these inputs.
  • Efficiency works out to 65 % at these inputs.
  • Runtime works out to 8 hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where effective yield after shrinkage losses sits at 90% and the headline result is 135 units, this scenario comes in 27.78% below the baseline at 97.5 units.
  • It divides finished output by runtime for a raw hourly throughput, then multiplies by the shrinkage yield to give effective usable throughput per hour. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Effective throughput: 97.5 units (headline result)
  • Raw throughput: 150 units
  • Efficiency: 65 %
  • Runtime: 8 hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Material Shrinkage calculator, set effective yield after shrinkage losses to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.