Electrical disintegration and micro-focus X-ray CT observations of cement paste samples with dispersed mineral particles

• Electrical disintegration (ED) is an effective liberation technique in mineral processing.
• Elucidation of the liberation behavior is difficult since the fragments after ED are fine and complex.
• Micro-focus X-ray CT observation of ED products was carried out to know crack extension behavior.

Electrical disintegration is an effective liberation technique in mineral processing where the liberation ratio depends on the mineralogical properties of the mineral grains. However elucidation of the liberation behavior is difficult since the fragments after the electrical disintegration are fine and complex. This study applies electrical disintegration to cement paste samples with various dispersed mineral particles (calcite, quartz, albite, and pyrite) and the disintegrated products are observed with a micro-focus X-ray CT scanner. Current channels and crack extension behavior from the channels are identified by cross sectional CT and three dimensional reconstructed images. A classification of the crack patterns was carried out and compared with the results of liberation ratio measurements of the products.