Thermodynamic evaluation and properties of refractory materials for steel ladle purging plugs in the system Al2O3-MgO-CaO

The influence of iron oxide in the phase relationships of Al2O3-MgO-CaO and Al2O3-MgO purging plug refractory material has been studied by the thermodynamic analysis tool FactSage. Results showed that the system without CaO to be advantageous on the onset temperature of liquid phase, and on the liquid content at defined chemical composition and temperature. Therefore, CaO negatively influences the iron-rich slag resistance of the purging plug material. Analysis of used purging plugs proved the thermodynamic results. They showed that spinel solid solution and calcium hexaluminate as stable phases were formed in the reaction with iron oxide slag.Corundum-spinel castables with and without calcium aluminate cement were investigated in the laboratory to compare the relevant technical properties. In the cement bonded castable, the curing and drying strength are increased by increasing the cement content. However high cement addition requires higher water demand, which results in higher open porosity and a lower hot modulus of rupture (HMoR). In the CaO-free, no-cement castable with hydratable alumina binder, the water demand is slightly higher when compared to the ultra-low cement castable. However, the curing and drying strength are still slightly higher for the no-cement castable. As there is no significant difference in HMoR with various hydratable alumina binder additions, low dosage of such binder in the range of two to four percent is normally recommended to avoid excessive water addition. Cement bonded castables (with CaO) show some advantages to the no-cement castable (non-CaO) regarding HMoR, however the no-cement castable could have advantages regarding the iron-rich slag resistance and thermal shock resistance.