Improvement of methods to determine key properties related to the corrosion behaviour of refractories

The project aims to contribute to the improvement of methods for determining key properties in the evolution of gas and liquid corrosion of refractory products. In particular, the project proposes to develop in-lab methods to measure transport properties at high temperature, specifically, the intrinsic permeability and the capillary suction properties, which are not available in the present time. As the first step, a deeper comprehension of the factors controlling the materials’ transport properties at room temperature, such as the porosity characteristics, are required in order to advance to the adaptation of the methodologies for measuring the properties under high temperature conditions. The tasks carried out during the staying at CEMHTI were aligned with the original plan and will continue during the following months to achieve the proposed aims. Non-commercial as-received and heat-treated MgO-C refractories, previously studied at INTEMA, were tested. On the other hand, the high temperature properties of molten steelmaking slags were measured using the aerodynamic levitation technique. In addition, a new thermodynamic simulation model to study the graphite oxidation of oxide-C refractories was also developed and applied.