In steel ladle linings, bauxite refractories in contact with iron and steel slag are subjected to complex loadings. To identify the causes of degradation in different reactor linings, a coupling diagram made up of three poles is established: namely, slag Impregnation (I), Thermomechanics (TM) and Phase transformations (P). The variation of the microstructure and the gradient of the chemical composition resulting from the (I-P) coupling are characterized by microprobe analyses; a natural impregnation tracer is identified. The (I-T) coupling is studied by modeling the refractory lining behavior subjected to a cyclic thermal loading within the framework of the mechanics of porous continua. Parameters governing the location and amplitude of the maximum pore pressure are obtained and their influences are studied. The analysis of the (TM) pole leads to the identification of a thermo-elasto-viscoplastic model for bauxite in various states of slag impregnation. Numerical simulations show that the stress state developed during the heating stages can induce spalling, probably generated by a localized over-pressure of slag.