Study on Chrome-free Purging Plugs for Steel Ladles

Purging plug refractories in China typically contain around 3 mass% of super-fine chromium oxide in the matrix in order to improve the performance of the purging plugs, primarily, slag corrosion and wear resistance. Alternatives to chromium oxide containing refractories have gained interest due to health concerns related to the formation of soluble chromium compounds over long storage periods of refractory wastes. Super-ground reactive alumina can replace chromium oxide in purging plug refractories and this paper discussed the new reactive alumina E-SY 88 in comparison to chromium oxide in a typical purging plug castable. The mixing behaviour, wet castable properties, as well as cured, dried, and fired properties at different temperatures up to 1 600 ℃ were compared. In addition, the hot modulus of rupture, creep behaviour, thermal shock resistance and slag corrosion resistance were tested. The microstructure after slag corrosion was investigated by SEM. The results prove that E-SY 88 is an economically viable technical alternative to chromium oxide in purging plug refractories.

Effects of Nano-CaCO_(3)Addition on Properties of Corundum-based Dispersive Purging Plugs

In order to improve the properties of corundum based dispersive purging plugs,dispersive purging plug specimens were prepared using tabular corundum(1-0.15 and≤0.15 mm)as the aggregates,tabular corundum(≤0.044 mm)andα-Al_(2)O_(3)micropowder(d_(50)=0.6μm)as the matrix,Secar 71 cement as the binder,introducing different amounts of nano-CaCO_(3),casting into shapes,and firing at different temperatures(1200 or 1600℃)for 4 h.The effects of the nano-CaCO_(3) extra-addition(0,0.5%,1.0%,1.5%and 2.0%,by mass)on the consistency of the castables as well as the properties and microstructure of the dispersive purging plug specimens were studied.The results show that:(1)with the fixed water addition,the consistency of the corundum castables decreases as the nano-CaCO_(3)addition increases;(2)with the increasing nano-CaCO_(3)addition,the bulk density of the specimens fired at different temperatures for 4 h decreases,the apparent porosity,the cold strength and the hot modulus of rupture all increase,the gas permeability does not change significantly;(3)the specimens fired at 1600℃ for 4 h have obviously better cold comprehensive performance than those fired at 1200℃for 4 h;(4)when the nano-CaCO_(3)addition is 1.5%,the comprehensive performance of the specimen is the optimal.

Microstructure and physical properties of steel-ladle purging plug refractory materials

Three different castables were prepared as steel-ladle purging-plug refractory materials： corundum-based low-cement castable （C-LCC）, corundum-spinel-based low-cement castable （C-S-LCC）, and no-cement corundum-spinel castable （C-S-NCC） （hydratable alu- mina p-A1203 bonded）. The properties of these castables were characterized with regard to water demand/flow ability, cold crushing strength （CCS）, cold modulus of rupture （CMoR）, permanent linear change （PLC）, apparent porosity, and hot modulus of rupture （HMoR）. The re- sults show the CCS/CMoR and HMoR of C-LCC and C-S-LCC are greater than those of the castable C-S-NCC. According to the micro- structure analysis, the sintering effect and the bonding type of the matrix material differ among the three castables. The calcium hexaluminate （CA6） phase in the matrix of C-LCC enhances the cold and hot mechanical strengths. In the case of C-S-LCC, the CA6 and 2CaO·2MgO·14A12O3（C2MEA14） ternary phases generated from the matrix can greatly increase the cold and hot mechanical strengths. In the case of the no-cement castable, sintering becomes difficult, resulting in a lower mechanical strength.

Progress and Developing Trend of Purging Plugs for Refining Ladle

Damage reasons of purging plugs for refining ladle and research progress on thermal shock resistance of corundum- spinel purging plugs were summarized. Research achievements and application results of nonoxides bonded corundum purging plugs for refining ladle were briefly reviewed. The further research and developing trend of purging plugs was proposed.

Ongoing Technology and Developing Trend of Ar-blowing Purging Plug

An introduction of the ongoing technology of argon-blowing purging plugs in China was presented in this work. Gel powders were used as starting materials to enhance the high temperature mechanical properties of the purging plugs. Composite purging plug adopting extrusion formed gas-purging bar and slit had its surface structural design improved, which enhanced the resistances to thermal shock and molten steel penetration, prolonging the service life. In addition, the safety was greatly improved by upgrading the framework and production process, enhancing the resistance to breakout. It is indicated that the developing trend is to produce purging plugs of longer service life and better gas purging rate with different starting materials and structure designs to meet the requirements of various metallurgical processes.

Optimization and Application of Corundum-spinel Purging Plugs for Refining Ladles

Corundum - spinel purging plugs were optimized through adjusting the formulation and the particle size composition of starting materials to prolong the service life of purging plugs for a 60 t refining ladle in a steel plant. Th.e optimized formulatioa is 30 mass% tabular corundum （6 - 3 mm ） , 20 mass% tabular corundum （3-1 ram）, 22 mass% tabular corundum （1 -0.5 ram） ＋ sintered spinel, 28% tabular corundum fines （0. 045 mm） ＋ fused spinel （0. 045 mm） ＋ bimodal α-Al2O3 micropowder ＋ Secar71 cement. The on-site results show that the plug can achieve an obviously long service life of 18 cycles, saving cost greatly.

Purging Plugs and Well Blocks for Refining Ladle

1 Scope This standard specifies the classification, technical requirements, test methods, inspection rules, marking, packing, transportation, storage and quality certificate of purging plugs and well blocks for refining ladle.

Numerical investigation on thermomechanical behavior of alumina–calcium hexaluminate refractories for purging plug

Alumina–spinel refractories used in slit-type purging plugs are susceptible to cross-sectional damage,resulting in a serious mismatch between their service life and that of ladle.Alumina–calcium hexaluminate refractories have gradually become the new trend in purging plug materials with the development of refining technology.The thermomechanical damage of slit-type purging plugs with alumina–calcium hexaluminate refractory was investigated by the thermo-solid coupling simulation.Combined with the polynomial fitting and design of experiments methods,the influence of thermophysical parameters on temperature and thermal stress of alumina–calcium hexaluminate refractories for purging plugs was systematically analyzed.The results show that the maximum thermal stress of the purging plugs appears during the stages of steel transporting and stirring,and the vulnerable parts are located above Y=0.323 m.The thermal conductivity and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material are the most sensitive parameters to the temperature and thermal stress inside the structure,respectively.The addition of more calcium hexaluminate can relieve the stress concentration and large deformation around the slits.Consequently,when the content of calcium hexaluminate is 47 wt.%and in the form of aggregate-binder,the temperature and thermal stress distribution inside the refractory are optimal,which can effectively improve the service life of the slit-type purging plug.

Numerical study of creep effect on purging plug performance under cyclic service

The service life of the purging plug is one of the fundamental factors that determine the downtime and usage efficiency of the whole ladle.The creep behaviour of the purging plug was thus investigated to identify the possible failure mechanism.At first,the creep parameters of the Norton–Bailey strain hardening rule were inversely identified via the results of the creep test.Then,the thermal-solid coupling model approach was employed to predict the creep behaviour of the purging plug,in which the Norton–Bailey strain hardening rule was applied.The numerical results show that the temperature of the purging plug presents a cyclic trend after the first service period since the preheating temperature is lower than the temperature of molten steel.Furthermore,the distribution of the creep strain intensity in a layered form could also contribute to a gradual spalling of the purging plug end in service.Besides,the creep strain concentration around the slit can be responsible for the clogging of the purging plug.

Effect of Zircon Addition on Properties of Corundum Porous Materials

This paper aims to improve the corrosion resistance of dispersive purging plugs.White fused corundum particles and fine powder,α-Al_(2)O_(3) micropowder,Cr_(2)O_(3) micropowder,Guangxi clay and zircon powder were used as the main raw materials.The mass ratio of white fused corundum particles and fine powder was fixed at 85:15,and 0,1%,2%,or 3%(by mass)of zircon fine powder was added to replace the same amount of white fused corundum fine powder.The corundum porous material was prepared by the particle stacking pore-forming method at 1650℃for 3 h.The effect of the zircon addition on the properties and microstructure of porous materials was investigated.The results show that:after adding zircon,the permeability of the porous material increases,the cold and hot strengths increase obviously,and the expansion rate after firing decreases.When the addition of zircon is 2%,the comprehensive performance of the specimen is optimal with the smallest linear change rate and the highest permeability.

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.

Influence Researches of Fused Calcium Hexaluminate Amount on Metal Corrosion Resistance of Alumina Refractories

Calcium hexaluminate is one from such perspective materials. It is characterized by high refractoriness （ above 1 830 ~C ） , as well as properties stability in reducing atmosphere, high alkali- and slag-resistance, low thermal conductivity and wettability by molten metals. In this work influence researches of fused calcium hexaluminate material additive in amount of 5%, 15% amt 25% on the main properties of alumina refractories were carried out. It is established that, the refractories containing the additive of 25% calcium hexaluminate material are characterized by the highest properties, slightly impregnated with metal melt and the highest metal corrosion resistance. The alumina purging plugs fi）r blowing of metal with calcium hexaluminate material additive are produced and intended to one metallurgical plant of Ukraine for carrying out tests.