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Slag, by itself, shows very little hydraulic activity. However, hydration is greatly accelerated by incorporation of the slag with Portland cement. This phenomenon is due to the activating role of calcium hydroxide released from the hydration of Portland cement. This study was aimed at finding other activators that will increase hydration in both synthetic and commercial slags. The effects of chemical composition and the aggregation state of the slag on the hydration process were also investigated. For the synthetic slags, the aggregation state was altered by different quenching techniques. The chemical composition was varied by synthesizing a series of slags. The degree of hydration was studied by developing a thermogravimetric analysis technique and the glass content was determined using microscopy. Minerals were determined using powder x-ray diffraction analysis.

No description available.

No description available.

A tbesis sutmitted to the Faculty of Engineering in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Available data on particularly viscosities of titaniferous melts under oxidizing conditions are reviewed, and an attempt is made to explain the high fluidity of such melts. (Abbreviation abstract) / Andrew Chakane 2018

Knowledge of the interfacial reactions between CO/CO2 and transition metal oxide containing slags is more important to understand various metallurgical processes. The present research studied the kinetics of reaction between CO/CO2 and MnOx/TiOx containing Slags. Measurements of the rate of interfacial reaction between CO/CO2 and MnOx/TiOx -CaO-SiO2 Slags were made using 13CO2-CO isotope exchange technique. The dependence of rate constant with respect to the effects of oxygen activity, MnOx/TiOx content, slag basicity and temperature was discussed. It is found that the apparent rate constant increases with increasing MnOx/TiOx content, slag basicity and temperature and decreases while increasing oxygen activity. The apparent rate constants obtained for MnOx/TiOx containing slags show similar behavior to that of FeOx containing slags and the rates gradually increase for TiOx, FeOx and MnOx containing slags at same experimental conditions. The rate constant expressions for MnOx/TiOx containing slags are obtained by using a single charge transfer model. Comparison of calculated and measured rate constants shows that there is a good fit between the two, which implies that the single charge transfer model may be generally applicable. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

The reaction between carbon and iron oxide-containing slag is crucial to efficient electric arc furnace steelmaking. The reaction occurs via gaseous intermediates, and the rate of gas generation by carbon gasification is limited by the chemical reactions at the slag-gas and carbon-gas interfaces. The aim of the present study was to obtain an understanding of the gasification rate limiting factors and slag foaming behaviour that could be readily applied to industrial electric arc furnace situations. The rate of carbon gasification was measured in experimental simulations of an electric arc furnace heat with slags containing between 21.6 and 48.2 wt% 'FeO'. It was found that rate control was dominated by the carbon-gas chemical reaction. A model was developed which describes the carbon gasification rate, amount of residual carbon in the slag, gas composition, slag-gas interfacial area and bubble diameter during carbon injection into slag. The model predicts rate control by the carbon-gas chemical reaction, in agreement with experimental observations. The slag foaming behaviour was investigated, and it was found that the foaming index is a useful parameter in quantifying foam height only if void fraction is constant with respect to gas flow rate. The average bubble size was observed to be an important factor in determining foam stability, with smaller bubble size resulting in greater foam height. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE’s) “2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure” estimated that “32% of America’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition.” An estimated $100 billion dollars are needed to maintain that condition, and an additional $79 billion is needed to improve the quality of American roadways to an acceptable level. In many regions around the US, the service lives of concrete pavements are limited by the damage caused by freezing and thawing of pore solution inside the pavements. Alkali-activated slags (AAS) are produced from ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), a byproduct of iron production, and exhibit cementitious properties. AAS concretes have been shown to have improved corrosion and freeze/thaw resistance compared to traditional cementbased concretes. A Guarded Longitudinal Comparative Calorimeter (GLCC) was used to determine when the freezing and thawing of internal water occurs in three AAS mortars using solutions of NaOH, Na2CO3, or waterglass compared to a control Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) mortar. AAS mortars using NaOH and Na2CO3 showed comparable thermal properties to the OPC mortar using the GLCC, and the AAS mortar using waterglass was shown to have higher heat capacity compared to the other AAS mixes. The compressive strengths varied by the alkaline solution used, with AAS with Na2CO3 showing inferior compressive strength to OPC, AAS with NaOH showing similar compressive strength to OPC, and AAS with waterglass showing superior compressive strength to OPC, but poor workability. A computer model of the GLCC testing procedure was created and showed good agreement with the experimental data. The GLCC model can be modified to approximate the results of the GLCC using a wider range of materials and internal solutions, like PCMs.

A indústria siderúrgica busca continuamente melhorias no desempenho dos refratários, como forma de melhorar sua competitividade, em um mercado caracterizado pela competição global. Um dos principais fatores de desgaste dos refratários é a corrosão, que no ambiente siderúrgico, está diretamente relacionada com a qualidade das escórias, na maioria dos equipamentos. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho apresenta um estudo dos principais fatores que desgastam quimicamente o revestimento dolomítico, com o objetivo de entender os fenômenos que estavam impactando no desempenho dos refratários utilizados na panela de aço da Siderúrgica Riograndense. Para o estudo em questão, o comportamento químico dessas escórias foi monitorado de setembro de 2008 a outubro de 2009. Para análise didática os dados foram estratificados em três períodos, onde o período 01 corresponde aos meses de setembro, outubro e novembro de 2008, período 02 englobam os meses de fevereiro a junho de 2009 e o período 03 revela os resultados de julho a outubro de 2009. Os resultados de monitoração da qualidade da escória foram apresentados por equipamento forno elétrico a arco (FEA) e forno panela (FP). Os principais parâmetros de processo avaliados, foram a basicidade binária, teor de MgO e oxidação da escória. Os resultados foram relacionados com o desempenho do revestimento refratário aplicado na panela de aço. Para a análise dos dados foi utilizado o Minitab um software que oferece um conjunto de ferramentas estatísticas. Pode-se inferir, a partir da análise dos resultados apresentados nesse trabalho, que as ações de redução da oxidação da escória do forno elétrico através de ajustes no sistema de injeção de oxigênio das injetoras, propiciaram uma redução do óxido de ferro nas escórias do forno panela, permitindo correções da basicidade binária nesse mesmo equipamento. Estas ações em conjunto com a elevação na concentração do óxido de magnésio, através da introdução de cal dolomítica no processo, promoveram melhor formação do coating no revestimento refratário. As alterações no processo de produção do aço promoveram um significativo aumento na vida média das panelas de aço desta aciaria. / The steel industry is continually seeking improvements in the performance of refractories, as a way to improve their competitiveness in a global market. A major factor in refractories wear is chemical corrosion. In the steel industry this is directly related to the quality of the slag used in most of the equipment. In this context, this work presents a study of the main factors that causes chemical wear in dolomite refractory. The main objective was the understanding of the phenomena that were impacting on the performance of refractories used in steel ladle of Siderúrgica Riograndense. For this study, the chemical behavior of slags was monitored from September 2008 to October 2009. For better understanding the analysis, the data were stratified into three periods: period 01, from September to November 2008; period 02, from February to June 2009; and the period 03, from July to October 2009 . The results of slag quality monitoring were presented separated from the electric arc furnace (EAF) and the ladle furnace (LF). The main process parameters evaluated were the binary basicity, content of MgO and oxidation of the slag. The results were correlated with the performance of refractories used in steel ladle. For the analysis of data, it was used Minitab software which offers a set of statistical tools. It can be inferred, through out the analysis of the results presented here, that the actions to decrease oxidation of the EAF slag, by adjusting the feeding system of oxygen injectors, propitiated a reduction of iron oxide in the slag of ladle furnece, which allowed corrections in binary basicity in the same equipment. These actions together with the increase in the concentration of magnesium oxide in the FP slag, through the introduction of dolomitic lime in the process, promoted the creation of a better coating on the refractory lining. The changes in the process of steel production promoted a significant increase in average life of ladle refractory in this steel making plant.

There are a number of impurity elements present in sulphide ores that can have a deleterious effect on the properties of the final copper metal product. In this thesis, an equilibrium distribution technique was used to determine the thermodynamic behaviour of selenium and tellurium in molten slags used in copper production. Calcium ferrite based slags and copper or silver alloy were equilibrated in magnesia crucibles at temperatures of 1200 to 1400 °C and oxygen partial pressures of 10-11 to 10-0.68 atm. Under conditions typical of those employed during copper converting, the minor elements were found to enter the slag as negatively charged species. The partitioning of selenium and tellurium to the slag was greatest at high temperature, low oxygen partial pressure and at highest concentration of basic oxide (CaO or BaO). The experimentally derived data were combined with published information to calculate the selenide and telluride capacities of the slag, and also to generate fundamental thermodynamic activity data for selenium and tellurium in the slag phase. It was found that the activity coefficients of selenium and tellurium were independent of their concentration in the slag over the range studied, but were strongly dependent on the temperature, slag chemistry and oxidation state of the slag. Experiments were also designed and carried out to determine what effect the presence of iron oxide and its oxidation state has on the behaviour of selenium in the slag. A series of experiments involving iron oxide additions to a calcium aluminate slag was conducted under increasingly oxidising conditions to assess the effect of total iron on the selenide capacity as the dominant oxidation state of iron in the slag changed. It was shown that at a constant ratio of CaO:Al2O3, the selenide capacity increased with total iron in the slag. However, the effect on the selenide capacity did not appear any more significant as the Fe3+:Fe2+ ratio changed in a particular direction. 4 Another series of experiments was carried out with iron calcium silicate slags to determine the stability of phases within the slag, and how this affected the equilibrium distribution and activity coefficient of selenium in the slag. A number of solid phases were identified and their composition determined by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis. The composition and minor element content of the remaining liquid was calculated using a thermodynamic model. From this it was found that the capacity of the liquid slag has a region of independence against slag chemistry, before increasing strongly with increasing lime content to the calcium ferrite composition. Some of the implications of this work are discussed with reference to the practicality of adjusting the process variables in a large-scale industrial process for the purpose of managing minor element content of the molten phases. Considerations include the effect on copper recovery and rate of wear of furnace refractory materials.