Effects of Spherical Light-weight Aggregates Additions on Workability and Mechanical Properties of Al_2O_3-SiO_2 System Castables

In order to clarify the effect of spherical light-weight aggregates addition on properties of A12 07 - Si02 system castables, adopting ATO mullite traditional light-weight aggregates and ATO mullite spherical light-weight aggre- gates, bauxite homogenization powder, microsilica , cal- cium aluminate cement as main raw materials, light- weight Al2 03 - SiO2 system castables were prepared by replacing conventional light-weight aggregate with spherical light-weight aggregates. The effects of spheri- cal light-weight aggregates addition on workability, me- chanical properties of castables after heated at different temperatures were researched; the microstructure of the aggregates was analyzed by SEM. The result shows that the introduction of spherical light-weight aggregates can significantly improve the flowability and reduce the water addition of the castables. Water demand of the castable is reduced from 18% with the conventional light-weight aggregates to 14% with spherical light-weight aggre- gates. In addition, light-weight castables prepared by spherical aggregates can keep the same workability with- in a wider range of water addition. Therefore, spherical aggregates are user-friendly. The introduction of spheri- cal light-weight aggregates is favorable to packing densi- ty and mechanical properties of castables, such as cold crushing strength, cold modulus of rupture, hot modulus of rupture at 1 200℃.