Preparation and Structure Characterization of Rare Earth Doped Alumina-Siloxane Gel and Its Modification on ER Effect

A series of samples of alumina-siloxane gel wrapped by poly (methyl methacrylate) and doped with rare earths such as lanthanum, praseodymium, yttrium, gadolinium and europium were prepared. The structure features were characterized by micrograph, X-ray fluorescence spectrum, X-ray diffraction spectrum, Fourier transform infrared spectrum and differential thermal analysis. Tests indicate that rare earths modify the electrorheological effects of the stable suspensions composed of samples stirred with silicon oil.

Influence of Ultra-Fine B_4C and Nano-SiO_2 on the Properties of Alumina-Graphite Refractories

The role of nano-SiO 2 and ultra-fine boron carbide on the properties of alumina-graphite materials was investigated. The study showed that the ultra-fine boron carbide added modified the microstructure of residual carbon and promoted the chemical bond between residual carbon from phenolic resin and flake graphite. The carbon white could strengthen the residual carbon from phenolic resin. These two additives improved the mechanical properties of AG refractories at both room temperature and high temperature, and thermal shock resistance was improved noticeably. When the two additives were doped together, carbon white could retard the evaporation of B 2O 3. Thermal shock resistance was guaranteed with a smaller amount of ultra-fine boron carbide.

Fatigue Resistance of Filled NR with PMMA-Wrapped and Rare Earth-Doped Alumina-Siloxane Gel

Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was used to wrap alumina-siloxane sol which was produced by water glass, aluminum nitrate and α-methacrylic acid, and as a result, alumina-siloxane gel wrapped by PMMA was obtained. Meanwhile, rare earth ions were employed to dope in the course of reaction, and the formed rare earth doped PMMA microcapsule powder was filled into natural rubber (NR). It is found through the analysis of mechanical properties that Young′s modulus universally improves and a remarkable resistance to fatigue is displayed. Retention rate of tensile strength is twice that of the controlled sample after ten thousand times of extension fatigue.

Thermal Shock Behaviour of Alumina-Iron Composites

Thermal shock behaviour was investigated for two morphologically different composites comprising an alumina matrix and 20 vol. pct Fe particles for a wide range of quenching temperature differences (AT=100~800癈) and compared to a monolithic alumina. The retained strength and critical quenching temperature difference, Tcr of the two composites were a significant improvement over the values for the respective monolithic alumina. Crack lengths and densities were shown to be greater for the alumina than for the two composites at all quenching temperature differences. The thermal shock resistance parameters for monolithic alumina and the two composites were calculated according to their mechanical and physical properties. The calculated results agree well with the experimental one and indicate possible explanations for the differences in thermal shock behaviour.

D.C.Plasma-Sprayed Coatings of Nanostructured Alumina-Titania-Silica

Nanocrystalline powders of w(Al2O3)=95%, w(TiO2)=3%, and w(SiO2)=2%, were reprocessed into agglomerated particles for plasma spraying, by using consecutive steps of ball milling, slurry forming, spray drying, and heat treatment. D. C. plasma was used to spray the agglomerated nanocrystalline powders, and resultant coatings were deposited on the substrate of stainless steel. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the morphology of the agglomerated powders and the cross section of the alumina-titania-silica coatings. Exper-imental results show that the agglomerated nanocrystalline particles are spherical, with a size from (10 - 90)μm. The flow ability of the nanocrystalline powders is greatly improved after the reprocessing. The coatings deposited by the plasma spraying are mainly of nanostructure. Unlike conventional plasma-sprayed coatings, no laminar layer could be found in the nanostructured coatings. Although the nanostructured coatings have a lower microhardness than conventional microstructured coatings, the toughness of the nanostructured ceramic coatings is significantly improved.

Effect of MgCl2 Solution Impregnation Process on Properties of Alumina-spinel Castables

In order to improve the properties of purging plugs and to prolong their service life,this work attempted to impregnate alumina-spinel castables for purging plugs in refining ladle with saturated magnesium chloride solution under vacuum.After being impregnated for the first time,the specimens were treated in two different ways:(1)dried at 110℃for 24 h;(2)heated at 600℃for 3 h.Then they were impregnated for the second time.All specimens were heated at 1550℃for 3 h,then the cold properties and the high temperature properties were tested according to corresponding standards.Test results were compared and analyzed.The results show that:after being impregnated,the specimen have both better cold properties and high temperature properties,the microstructure analysis result proves that it is attributed to in situ formed spinel.However,because MgO produced by MgCl2-6H20 decomposing above 527℃can hydrate and destroy specimen microstructure,which can make the properties of specimens impregnated in the second way get worse.By comprehensive consideration,the first scheme way is more suitable.

Effect of SiO2 Micropowder Addition on Properties of Alumina-magnesia Based Wet Gunning Mix for Working Layer

The magnesia - alumina based wet gunning mix was prepared using tabular corundum aggregates,fused mag- nesia aggregates, tabular corundum micropowder, silica mieropowder and pure calcium ahuninate cement as the main starting materials. Effects of silica micropowder ad- ditions （0, 0. 2% , 0. 5% , 1.0% , 1.5% , 2. 0% , and 2.5%, by mass, the same hewinafier） on properties oJ the gunning mix were researched. The results show that when ttze silica micropowder addition is i. 0% -2. 0% , the gunning mix has good .flou,ability and pumpability. Adding 2.5% silica micropowder, the nepheline forms at 1 600 ℃, which will reduce the high. temperature proper- ties of ntagnesia -ahtmina wet gunning mix. The intro- duction qf silica micropowder has obvious effects on cold mechanical properties of the gunning mix. For the speci- tnens dried at 110 ℃ , the strength increases slightly with the silica micropowder addition increasing. For the specimens heat-treated at 1 600 ℃ for 3 h, the strength in- creases nutrkedlv with the silica micropowder addition in- creasing. When keeping the water addition and particle size di, stribution constant, the residual linear expansion rate qf the specimen with 1.5% of silica micropowder is the lowest, ltot modulus tf rupture at 1 450 ℃ .for 0. 5 h oJ the specimens decreases gradually with the increase of silica fame addition. A small amount of silica micropow- der is beneficial for the slag penetration resistance.

Phase and microstructure of CVD alumina-silica coating deposited at relative low temperature

Alumina-silica composite coatings were prepared on the surface of graphite paper by CVD using AlCl3/SiCl4/H2/CO2 as precursor in the temperature range of 300 to 550℃. XRD and SEM were used to examine the phase composition and the microstructure of the coating, respectively. The results indicate that the dense, uniform and adherent alumina-silica composite coating can be prepared on graphite paper substrate by CVD at 550℃ using SiCl4/AlCl3/CO2/H2. The alumina-silica composite coating is composed of a number of spherical particles. Each particle is composed of a number of fine-particle. The phase of the 550℃ composite coating includes γ-alumina containing amorphous silica. The content of Cl element in composite coating decreases with the increase of the deposition temperature. The analysis results of morphology and growth mechanisms of the CVD alumina-silica indicate that the condensation within the boundary layer will be more likely to lead to the formation of gel-particles. The gel-particles size decreases with the increase of deposition temperature in the range of 300550℃. Surface reaction is the main path to generate deposition products at 550℃.

Optical Studies of Tb^(3+) Doped Boro-Alumina-Silicate Glass

Tb3+ doped boro-alumina-silicate glasses were synthesized in air by high temperature process. Optical absorption, emission and excitation spectra of the glasses have been measured. Effect of concentration quenching on the lifetime and fluorescence yield of 5D3 and 5D4 level has been discussed. The absorption spectrum shows four poor peaks in the UV-Vis region. With excitation at 377 nm, the fluorescence spectrum of the sample has four major emission bands at 488, 542, 584 and 621 nm, which correspond to the 5D4→7Fj (j=6, 5, 4, 3) transitions respectively. The emission from the 5D3→7Fj (j=5, 4, 3) transitions around 415, 437 and 458 nm are very feeble. When Tb3+ concentration beyond a particular value (2%, mole fraction), the concentration quenching phenomenon of 5D3 state occurred, due to the dipole-dipole interaction among the Tb3+. The energy transfer process (5D3+7F6→5D4+7F0) leads to a high quenching concentration (up to 20%) of 5D4 state. The lifetime of 5D4 level in boro-alumina-silicate glass is about 3ms that can be used for new type of long-lasting phosphorescence device.

Effect of Ultrafine Spinel Sources on Slag Resistance and Microstructure of Alumina-spinel Castables

In order to clarify the effect of ultrafine spinel sources on slag resistance and microstructure of alumina -spinel castables,using tabular alumina and spinel as coarse aggregates,tabular alumina powders,spinel powders,calcium aluminate cement,spinel containing cement,spinel micro-powder and reactive alumina ultrafines as matrix,alumina-spinel castables used for RH snorkels were prepared by changing the particle size and sources of preformed spinel.The effects of different ultrafine spinel sources (CMA72,spinel micro-powder) on the properties of alumina-spinel castables were investigated.Thermal shock resistance and slag resistance of specimens were compared by the residual strength rate (1 100 ℃,air cooling 1 cycle) and static crucible method.The microstructure and the slag corrosion resistance mechanism of the specimens were analyzed by SEM and EDS.The result shows that slag resistance of alumina-spinel castables can be improved by adding ultrafine preformed spinel,such as CMA72,and spinel micro-powder.The introduction of ultra-fine preformed spinel has little effect on HMOR of alumina-spinel castables,but has negative effect on TSR.ultra-fine and dispersive preformed spinel in the matrix and fine microstructure are the main reasons for the improvement of slag resistance of castables.

Effect of Spraying Parameters on Deposition Efficiency and Wear Behavior of Plasma Sprayed Alumina-Titania Composite Coatings

The effects of parameters, in the process of plasma-sprayed ceramic coating, upon the deposition efficiency of alumina-13 wt.% titania composite coatings are reported. The coatings were prepared by the atmospheric plasma spray process. The plasma torch input power, flow rates of primary, secondary and carrier gas, powder feed rate and spraying distance were considered as variables. The results show that the variations in all the selected spraying parameters strongly affect the deposition efficiency. The micro-hardness, as well as erosive and sliding wear rates of the coating are also affected by these parameters. Especially the input power strongly affects the phase and microstructure of the coatings.

Influence of Glass Dust on Properties of Alumina-carbon Refractories

In order to improve the properties of alumina-carbon refractories,specimens were prepared using white fused corundum,zirconia-mullite and flake graphite as the raw materials,phenolic resin as the binder,adding different mass fractions(1.5%,2.0%,and 2.5%,respectively)of glass dust,cold isostatic pressing by 120 MPa,drying and firing at 900℃for 3 h.Effects of the glass dust addition on the apparent porosity,bulk density,cold modulus of rupture,hot modulus of rupture and thermal shock resistance were studied.The results show that the cold modulus of rupture of the specimens is improved significantly as the results of glass dust accelerating sintering.However,the hot modulus of rupture decreases.As the glass phase buffers the strain produced by thermal shock,the thermal shock resistance of alumina-carbon specimens is improved,especially for low carbon alumina-carbon materials.

Colloidal Alumina-bonded TiB_2 Coating on Cathode Carbon Blocks in Aluminum Cells

Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) with reduction process was used to fabricate TiB2 powder from TiO2-B2O3-Mg system. The colloidal alumina-bonded TiB2 paste was prepared and coated on the cathode carbon blocks. Various properties of the baked paste such as the corrosive resistance, thermal expansion and wettability were tested. Experimental results showed that the colloidal alumina-bonded TiB2 coating could be well wetted by liquid aluminum; and the thermal expansion coefficient of the coated material was 5.8x10(-6) degreesC(-1) at 20-1000 degreesC, which was close to that of the traditional anthracite block cathode (4x10(-6) degreesC(-1)); the electrical resistivity was 8 mu Omega (.)m at 900 degreesC when the content of alumina in the coated material was about 9% in mass fraction. In addition, some other good results such as sodium resistance were also reported.

Research on Alkali Resistance of Alumina-rich MgAl2O4 Spinel for Alkali Recovery Furnace

Chrame containing refractories are a kind of traditional material for the lining of alkali recovery furnaces, but the formation of hexavalent chrome compounds will give rise to detrimental effect on environment and human＇s health. With the gradual awakening of people＇s comciousness about environment protection, it is urgent to prepare environmental-friendly materials for alkali recovery jurnaces with high quality and long life. In this paper, alumina-rich MgAl2O4 spinel （ AR90 ） was used to replace chromite. The physical properties of dried （110 ℃ for 24 h） or fired （1 300 ℃ for 3 h） AR90 and chromite were studied, respectively. The alkali vapor method was used to determine the alkali resistance of the two materials. The results show that： （1） after drying at 110 ℃ for 24 h, AR90 specimens show higher apparent porosity and slightly lower bulk density than chromite specimens; after firing at 1 300 ℃ for 3 h, AR90 has significantly higher apparent porosity as well as higher bulk density; （2） after the alkali attack, the AR90 specimens sintered at 1 300 ℃ exhibit smaller strength change and much higher compressive strength than the chromite specimens; meanwhile, the permeability degree of alkali salt in chromite specimens is more serious than that in AR90 specimens, which indicates that AR90 possesses better alkali resistance.

Rheology of Steel Fibre Containing Alumina-Magnesia-Extruded Graphite Pellets Self-Flowing Castables

The influences of adding steel fibres of different lengths up to 3 volume percentages, on the rheological behaviour of an alumina-magnesia-extruded graphite pellet containing castables have been studied using a rheometer. Free-flow measurements have shown that the flow is severely affected by increasing the length of steel fibres. The calculated values of rheological constants indicate that 19 mm and 25 mm fibre up to 2 volume percentage is permitted while one volume percentage of 50 mm fibres severely degrades the rheology of the castable.

Microstructure, Corrosion, and Fatigue Properties of Alumina-Titania Nanostructured Coatings

Air Plasma spray process was used to deposit a conventional and nanostructured Al2O3-13 wt% TiO2 coatings on a stainless steel substrates. Morphology of the powder particles, microstructure and phase composition of the coatings were characterized by XRD and SEM. Potentiodynamic polarization tests and Electrochemical Impedance Spectro- scopy (EIS) were used to analyze the corrosion of the coated substrate in 3.5% NaCl solutions to determine the opti-mum conditions for corrosion protection. The fatigue strength and hardness of the coatings were investigated. The experimental data indicated that the nanostructured coated samples exhibited higher hardness and fatigue strength compared to the conventional coated samples. On the other hand, the conventional coatings showed a better localized corrosion resistance than the nanostructured coatings.

Influence of Characteristics of Alumina-silicate Raw Materials on the Formation Process of Clinker

The traditional alumina-silicate raw materials, for example, clays, in the precalcining technique of cement production, have been replaced by low grade and high silica content sandstones, shales, and industrial waste residues, including fly ashes, slag, and others. The results are the change of compositions and characteristics of raw materials applied and a great effect on cement calcination process and clinker formation. In this work, the cement clinker formation process of different alumina-silicate raw materials to replace clay raw material was studied by chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and high temperature microscope based on the characteristics of the alumina-silicate raw materials. The formation heat of the clinker was determined by the acid dissolution method. Influence of different alumina-silicate raw materials on the clinker burnability and formation process was studied. The results show that the changing of alumina- silicate raw materials, especially using industrial waste residues, can reduce the formation temperature of high temperature liquid phases, improve the burnability of raw materials, reduce the formation temperature and formation heat of clinker. And this study also observed the formation temperature and transformation of high temperature liquid phases in the heating process of raw materials by high temperature microscope.

Effect of Pulsed Laser on the Structure and Morphology of Alumina-Zirconia Coatings

The effect of excimer laser annealing on the structure and morphology of ceramic coatings were investigated. Alumina-40% zirconia (AZ-40) coatings were sprayed with a water-stabilized plasma spray gun. The coated surface was treated by excimer laser having a wavelength of 248 nm and pulse duration of 24 ns. The surface structure of the treated coating was examined by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). A detailed parametric study was performed to investigate the effects of different parameters such as laser energy density (fluence), pulse repetition rate (PRR), and the number of shots on the mechanical properties, surface morphology, and microstructure of the coatings. The results of this study indicated that laser energy and pulse repetition rate have significant effects on surface morphology, porosity, and microstructure of the coating.