Evidence-first editorial standard
This guide separates observed facts, engineering assumptions and data that still require confirmation. It does not promise a universal service life or replace the exact product data and project specification.
State the duty before naming a product
A specification that opens with a material grade has already narrowed the field before the problem is described. Begin with the handled material and its particle range, the equipment and its geometry, throughput or velocity, drop height and angle where impact applies, temperature, moisture, chemistry and the operating window including start-up and upset conditions. A supplier who receives this can propose a construction; a supplier who receives only a grade can only quote a price.
Specify requirements, not brands
Naming one manufacturer, or a grade the duty does not need, removes valid solutions and raises the price without improving service life. Where a property matters, require the property. Where a construction matters — bonded tile, weldable panel, rubber-ceramic composite, lined pipe — require the function it must perform and let the offer explain how it is met. Reserve a single-source clause for a genuine interchangeability constraint you can defend in writing.
Attach a test method to every number
A hardness, density, alumina content or wear index without the standard and the sample condition it was measured under cannot be compared between two offers, because two suppliers may be quoting different tests. Require the value, the standard, and a certificate tied to the batch supplied. A number a supplier cannot source is a number the tender should not contain.
Specify the attachment and the substrate, not only the wear face
Most lining failures reviewed in the field involve support, bonding or edges rather than the ceramic itself. Require the fixing system, the surface preparation standard and the acceptance state of the steel before installation, the treatment of edges, terminations and penetrations, and who is responsible for substrate repair if the shell is found corroded or distorted once the old lining is removed.
Dimension the joints, tolerances and transitions
State the permitted joint width, whether joints may be aligned with the flow, the allowed step at a change of bore, the treatment at flanges and the tolerance on internal offset. These details decide where the next wear point forms. A tender silent on transitions transfers that decision to whoever is cheapest, and the difference will not be visible on the quotation.
Define acceptance at delivery and after installation
List the documents required — batch certificates, adhesive data and cure records, installation procedure, as-built lining map — and the checks performed on site, including a repeatable inspection baseline recorded before return to service. Acceptance criteria written after installation are negotiated; acceptance criteria written into the tender are enforced.
Leave out what cannot be verified
A required service-life multiple, a wear rate quoted without comparable duty, or a warranty whose scope and measurement basis are undefined all look like protection and provide none: the clause is unenforceable and the offers that respect it are penalised against the offers that do not. Ask instead for the evidence a supplier holds — comparable installations, measurement method, and what they will guarantee in measurable terms.