Preparation and Thermal Shock Resistance of Mullite Ceramics for High Temperature Solar Thermal Storage

Mullite thermal storage ceramics were prepared by low-cost calcined bauxite and kaolin.The phase composition,microstructure,high temperature resistance and thermophysical properties were characterized by modern testing techniques.The experimental results indicate that sample A3(bauxite/kaolin ratio of 5:5)sintered at 1620℃has the optimum comprehensive properties,with bulk density of 2.83 g·cm^(-3)and bending strength of 155.44 MPa.After 30 thermal shocks(1000℃-room temperature,air cooling),the bending strength of sample A3 increases to 166.15 MPa with an enhancement rate of 6.89%,the corresponding thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity are 3.54 W·(m·K)^(-1)and 1.39 kJ·(kg·K)^(-1)at 800℃,and the thermal storage density is 1096 kJ·kg^(-1)(25-800 mullite ceramics;sintering properties;high-temperature thermal storage;thermal shock resistance).Mullite forms a dense and continuous interlaced network microstructure,which endows the samples high thermal storage density and high bending strength,but the decrease of bauxite/kaolin ratio leads to the decrease of mullite content,which reduces the properties of the samples.

Open-cell mullite ceramic foams derived from porous geopolymer precursors with tailored porosity

Porous geopolymer precursors were firstly prepared by the direct foaming method using bauxite,fly ash(FA),and metakaolin(MK)as raw materials,and porous mullite ceramics were prepared after ammonium ion exchange and then high-temperature sintering.The effects of chemical foaming agent concentration,ion-exchange time,and sintering temperature on porous geopolymerderived mullite ceramics were studied,and the optimal preparation parameters were found.Studies have shown that the concentration of blowing agent had great influence on open porosity(q)and porosity and cell size distributions of geopolymer samples,which in turn affected their compressive strength(σ).Duration of the ion exchange had no obvious effect on the sintered samples,and the amount of mullite phase increased with the increase in the sintering temperature.Mullite foams,possessing an open-celled porous structure,closely resembling that of the starting porous geopolymers produced by directly foaming,were obtained by firing at high temperatures.Stable mullite(3Al_(2)O_(3)·2SiO_(2))ceramic foams with total porosity(ε)of 83.52 vol%,high open porosity of 83.23 vol%,and compressive strength of 1.72 MPa were produced after sintering at 1400 for 2 h in℃ air without adding any sintering additives using commercial MK,bauxite,and FA as raw materials.

Phase Formation and Process Analysis of SiC-Al_2O_3-Al_6Si_2O_(13) Composite Powder via Carbothermal Reduction of Fly Ash at 1 550 ℃

Silicon carbide（SiC）-alumina（Al_2O_3）-mullite（Al_6Si_2O_（13）） composite powder was successfully synthesized at 1 550 ℃ for 5 h via carbothermal reduction reaction,and the effects of various mass ratios of active carbon to fly ash（0.38,0.44 and 0.58） on the phase composition and microstructure of products were investigated,and the formation process of the powder was also analyzed in detail.The products mainly consist ofβ-SiC,α-Al_2O_3,Al_6Si_2O_（13） and FeSi.Increasing carbon content favors the decomposition of Al_6Si_2O_（13） and formation of SiC.The average particle size of β-SiC andα-Al_2O_3 is about 1 μm and that of Al_6Si_2O_（13） is 5-10μm.The formation process of SiC-Al_2O_3-Al_6Si_2O_（13）powder includes the decomposition of mullite in fly ash and formation of SiC.