Thermal Shock Resistance of Ladle Castables

High purity alumina - spinel （ A - MA ） and alumina- magnesia （A -M） castables are widely used in steel ladles due to their resistance against slag penetration and corrosion. With a calcium magnesium alumihate bond （ CMA ） excellent slag penetration resistance can be achieved which results in high wear resistance due to reduced structural spalling. This paper investigates the impact of matrix eompositions and CMA-binder content of A -MA and A -M castables on thermal shock resistance（TSR）. Standardized thermal shock tests have been applied with sample quenching from 950 ℃ down to room temperature. Results show that all castables are significantly damaged after 5 cycles despite their differences in microstructure. However, the mix with 12% CMA gave TSR that is at similar good level as the reference mix with 6% CAC （70% alumina cement ）. While a similar strength level was achieved before and after the thermal cycling, the Jormulation with 12% CMA contains 0. 6% less total CaO. The A - MA castables perform better on average than the A - M mixes with this test method. Within the group of A - M castables the mix with 18% CMA and 0. 5% SiO2 gave superior TSR, similar good as castables of the A - MA group. The introduction of CMA in an A - M tastable allows reduction of free MgO and SiO2-addition. The reduction of SiO2 has been found beneficial for the TSR. This was also found during a thermal cycling trial at high temperature between 1100 and 1 500 ℃. Here the A -M mix with 18% CMA and 0. 5% SiO2 performed better than the SiO2-free A -MA castable.

"In-situ Recycling" :Monolithic Ladle Repair with Shotcreting

The service life of refractories in ladle walls is limited by corrosion,abrasion,thermal shock and structural spalling mechanisms. When the ladle is lined with bricks they typically need to be completely removed after a certain number of heats to be replaced by new bricks of the same size as the original bricks. Not so for monolithic ladle linings. At the end of their service life the remains of the castable can almost completely be recycled as they can in fact stay in place. Only the worn-out part of the lining has to be replaced by a new castable. 20%-50% of the initial ladle lining can be recycled ＂insitu＂. The installation can efficiently be done by shotcreting technics. But it requires a castable that resists slag penetration very well. Castables based on a calcium magnesium aluminate bond provide the required penetration resistance. Pumping and shotcreting is very well adapted for repairs of blast furnace shafts,torpedo cars,hot metal and steel ladle linings[1]. However,very little is published about how a good pumping and shotcreting performance can be achieved when the installation has to be done under extreme weather conditions. At high ambient temperature the challenge is to ensure a good pumping result without early castable stiffening. Blockage of the pump would be the consequence. At low ambient temperature the difficulty is to de-activate the highly efficient deflocculant fast enough with a gelling agent added intothe wet mix at the nozzle to prevent the gunned material slipping off the wall. This paper studies strategies how to achieve good installed properties even at extreme ambient temperatures. The interactions between deflocculants,retarders,gelling agents,and calcium magnesium aluminate binder as a function of temperature are studied for an alumina- spinel ladle castable. Beside a new gelling agent for this castable type also a special stabilizer to reduce the temperature sensitivity has been investigated. It will be highlighted how the use of the new calcium magnesium aluminate binder in ladle castables and shotcretes maximises their service life and minimises material consumption.