ISIJ International, Vol. 45 (2005), No. 4, pp.

513–521

Experimental Evaluation of Chemical Composition and Viscosity

of Melts during Iron Ore Sintering

Satoshi MACHIDA, Koichi NUSHIRO, Koichi ICHIKAWA, Hidetoshi NODA1) and Hidenori SAKAI2)

Steel Research Laboratory, JFE Steel Co., 1, Kokan-cho, Fukuyama, Hiroshima 721-8510 Japan. 1) JFE Mineral Co.,1,
Kawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-0835 Japan. 2) JFE Mineral Co., 1, Kokan-cho, Fukuyama, Hiroshima 721-8510 Japan.
(Received on August 27, 2004; accepted on November 20, 2004 )

The viscosity of the melts formed in the sintering reaction was measured for evaluating the fluidity of the
melts, which play a crucial role in the sintering process. Using the sphere draw-up method carried out the
measurements of high temperature viscosity. With low-melting point compositions of the Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2
system, the viscosity of high SiO2 content melts (Fe2O3/CaO/SiO2
38.5/34.5/27.0 weight basis) was 5 times
higher than that of low SiO2 content melts (Fe2O3/CaO
80/20). The viscosity of low SiO2 content increased
with addition of Al2O3 and SiO2. Similarly, with melt compositions generated from actual ores, viscosity de-
pended on the contents of Al2O3 and SiO2.
Based on the results, the viscosity of the melted liquid was estimated from the chemical composition,
and the viscosity of the solid-liquid coexistence phase was also evaluated using a viscosity calculating equa-
tion for suspensions. The viscosity distribution of the solid-liquid coexistence phase at 1 300°C in the ternary
composition system Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 was obtained.
KEY WORDS: iron ore; sinter; melt; slag; viscosity; viscosity estimation; suspension.

sintering reaction was measured for evaluating the fluidity

1. Introduction
of the melts, which play a crucial role in the sintering
With the heightened requirement to secure upward flexi- process. Based on the results, the viscosity of the melted
bility in blast furnace productivity and decrease the reduc- liquid was estimated from the chemical composition, and
ing agents rate in blast furnace operation, higher quality of the viscosity of the solid-liquid coexistence phase was also
sintered ore has been required in recent years. On the other evaluated using a viscosity calculating equation for suspen-
hand, where iron ore resources are concerned, production of sions.
high quality Australian iron ore has shown a decreasing
trend, and improvements aimed at maintaining sintered ore 2. Experimental Procedure
quality have also become necessary from this viewpoint.
While the sintered ore quality is influenced by many fac- 2.1. Viscosity Measurement
tors, it has been reported that the mineral textures and phys- 2.1.1. Apparatus and Procedure
ical structure which determine sinter quality are largely de- The cylinder rotation method and oscillating cylinder
pendent on the behavior of the melts generated in the sin- method have generally been used in measuring the viscosity
tering process.1–5) Therefore, various methods of controlling of high temperature melts.11,12) However, in the present vis-
the fluidity of the melts generated during sintering have cosity measurements, the sphere drawing up method was
been proposed.6–10) used, because this method featured a comparatively simple
The importance of melt behavior in sintering, and partic- apparatus structure and operation.
ularly melt fluidity, is generally recognized. However, due Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the experimental
to the complexity of the reaction and unsteady temperature apparatus for viscosity measurement. This apparatus con-
conditions in sintering, fluidity is grasped not the viscosity sisted of a balance scale section and a heating section. The
of liquid but the one of suspension. Then, it is difficult to balance was set on the upper part of the electric furnace
quantify the solid phase ratio in actual sintering melts, con- used for heating, which contained the sample. The viscosity
sequently, the physical explanations of fluidity in sintering of sample was calculated by drawing force and speed of the
is still imprecise. Although various reports on the viscosity sphere which was immersed in the melt bath. The viscosity
of melted slag in ironmaking and steelmaking have been value was calibrated in advance using a cold reference solu-
published,11–13) there have been few measurements of highly tion for viscosimeter calibration (Nippon Grease Co., Ltd.
oxidized iron compositions such as the melts generated in JS5, 10, 50, 100, 200).
sintering.14,15) The sphere was made of pure platinum and was 20 mm in
Therefore, in the present research, first, the viscosity of diameter. A hook was welded to the sphere for hanging.
the melted liquid with same compositions formed in the The platinum-rhodium crucible (Pt/Rh
90/10) had an

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 ISIJ International, Vol. 45 (2005), No. 4

Fig. 1. Experimental apparatus for viscosity measurement.

inner diameter of 50 mm and height of 90 mm. The plat-

inum sphere was suspended from one arm of the balance,
as shown in Fig. 1, using a platinum-rhodium wire (Pt/Rh

70/30). A diameter of 0.5 mm was adopted for the platinum
wire in consideration of deterioration by the slag, and cut-
ting due to heat. The sphere drawing distance in the viscosi-
ty measurement was roughly 20 mm, and the position of the
sphere was adjusted so as to avoid contact with the inner
wall of the crucible.
The scale was balanced in advance by adjusting the
weight set on the second arm of the balance with the sphere
immersed in the bath. In this condition, to draw up the
sphere, additional weights as 20 to 90 mg were added on the
second arm. The drawing speed of the sphere was measured
5 times at each load. Finally, the viscosity was obtained by Fig. 2. Phase diagram of Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 system.18)
averaging these measured values at each temperature.
This experiment was performed sequentially at tempera- Table 1. Chemical compositions of measured samples.
tures of 1 400, 1 350, 1 300, and 1 250°C in the atmosphere.
In the actual sintering process, it is known that the partial
pressure of oxygen at the melting zone is lower than atmos-
pheric pressure by combustion of coke, and then, the iron
oxides in the melt are partially reduced.16) However, be-
cause this reduction state changes rapidly and control of the
experimental atmosphere for this change is exceptionally
difficult, in these measurements, first priority was given to
clarifying the basic physical properties of the melted liquid.

2.1.2. Preparation of Samples

In viscosity measurements, two types of samples were
used, one being prepared with reagents, and the other, pre-
pared with actual iron ore and a CaCO3 reagent. The
reagents were Fe2O3, CaCO3, SiO2, Al2O3, and MgO pow-
der. These materials were mixed at a specified blending
ratio, including the actual ore.
With all samples, the sample weight was 700 g and the
bath height was 70–75 mm.
In the equilibrium diagram for Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 system,
which are the main components of sintered ore, the compo-
sition regions of melting points of 1 300°C and under are
shown by the dark colors in Fig. 2. The initial melts in sin-
tering are formed with these eutectic point composition.17) 2.2. Assimilation Test
Table 1 shows compositions L, M, and N in each region, To investigate the composition of the initial melts gener-
and the melting points of these compositions are around ated in sinter, an assimilation test was performed using iron
1 200°C. In this research, viscosity of melted liquid was ore and quicklime (CaO). The CaO columns (diameter:
measured for several compositions close to M and N. 8 mm, height: 10 mm) were made by compacting of CaCO3

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reagent and baking at 900°C in an electric furnace. Also the

iron ore columns (diameter: 19 mm, height: 10 mm) were 3.2. Effect of SiO2, Al2O3, and MgO Addition on Vis-
made by compacting of fine ore which was crushed under cosity with Low-melting Point Composition in
125 m m, using four ore brands B, E, J, K, as shown in Table Fe2O3–CaO System
2. The CaO column was placed on the iron ore columns and To investigate the composition of the initial melts gener-
they were baked in the electric furnace at 1 300°C for 5 to ated in sinter, an assimilation test was performed using iron
10 min, extracted from the furnace, and quenched in water. ore and quicklime (CaO). The CaO columns (diameter:
8mm, height: 10 mm) were made by compacting of CaCO3
reagent and baking at 900°C in an electric furnace. Also the
3. Experimental Results
iron ore columns (diameter: 19 mm, height: 10 mm) were
3.1. Comparison of Viscosity with Low-melting Point made by compacting of fine ore which was crushed under
Composition in Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 System 125 m m, using four ore brands B, E, J, K, as shown in Table
Figure 3(a) shows the relationship between temperature 2. The CaO column was formed on the iron ore columns
and viscosity of composition M. In these measured results, and they were baked in the electric furnace at 1 300°C for 5
a linear relationship was obtained between the logarithmic to 10 min, extracted from the furnace, and quenched in
value of viscosity and the reciprocal of the absolute temper- water. To study the effect of SiO2, Al2O3, and MgO addition
ature. When this was extrapolated to higher temperatures, a to low-melting point composition N, as the melt composi-
viscosity at 1 550°C was 36% lower than the measured re- tion generated in the initial stage of sintering, these compo-
sult reported by Sumita et al.14) However, the difference of nents were added in the range of SiO2: 1 to 4 mass%,
these viscosities would be considered due to the difference Al2O3: 0.5 to 8 mass%, and MgO: 0.25 to 2 mass%, as
of the measuring temperature range. Figure 3(b) shows the shown in Table 1.
results for composition N. The measured viscosities in the Figure 4(a) shows the effect of SiO2 addition. Viscosity
present research were 6% lower than the reference values14) increased as the amount of SiO2 addition increased.
of substantially same composition and temperature. As in- Furthermore, viscosity decreased with increasing in the
determinacy on the order of 10% is considered unavoid- temperature of the specimen.
able, we concluded that it is possible to obtain measure- Figure 4(b) shows the effect of Al2O3 addition. At tem-
ments which are comparable with other data by this method peratures above 1 350°C, the viscosity increased gradually
in a temperature range up to 1 400°C. with addition of up to 6 mass% Al2O3, but at temperatures
Comparing the viscosity of composition M and N, the of 1 300°C, viscosity increased notably with 0.5 mass% ad-
former that includes higher SiO2 is 5 times larger. dition. A remarkable increase was also observed at temper-
atures above 1 350°C with 8 mass% addition. Thus, in com-
Table 2. Chemical composition of iron ores for assimilation
parison with SiO2 addition, when Al2O3 is added to compo-
test. sition N, the sample temperature is considered to have a
larger effect on viscosity.
Figure 4(c) shows the effect of MgO addition on viscosi-
ty. Although viscosity increases notably with 0.5 mass% ad-
dition of MgO, the increase in viscosity basically tends to
be small with 0.5 to 2.0 mass% addition of MgO. Moreover,
as with Al2O3, the temperature of the sample is also consid-
ered to have a large effect on viscosity in the case of MgO
addition.
Figure 4(c) also showed the viscosities with 1% MgO

Fig. 3. Relationship between temperature and measured viscosity.

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Fig. 4. Effect of additives on viscosity with low-melting point composition in Fe2O3–CaO system.

Fig. 5. Cross section of sample after the assimilation test. (Assimilating condition: 1 300°C)

Table 3. Chemical composition of initial melts in assimilation

test.

Fig. 6. Viscosity with initial melt compositions of assimilation

and 6% Al2O3 addition to composition N. In this composi- tests at 1 300°C.
tion, measured results were not obtained for 1 350°C or
under. However, the viscosity was higher than the one of reagent and iron ore. According to EPMA composition
1% MgO addition or 6% Al2O3 addition respectively at analysis at this region, as shown in Table 3, the mole ratio
1 400°C. of CaO/Fe2O3 of each sample was 0.84–1.15 as the
composition range of monocalcium-ferrite (CaO · EFe2O3).
3.3. Evaluation of Initial Melt Composition of Sinter Moreover, the concentration of SiO2 and Al2O3 depended
As shown in Table 2, ore K had highest contents of both on the content in the respective ores.
SiO2 and Al2O3, whereas ore J had lowest contents of both The test materials of four initial melt compositions ob-
components than ore K. The Al2O3 content of ore B was tained from the assimilation tests, as shown Table 3, were
approximately one half that of ore K, and ore E had ex- prepared using ore and CaCO3 reagent, and the viscosities
tremely low contents of both SiO2 and Al2O3 in comparison of samples were measured. Figure 6 shows the results of
with the other ores. Figure 5 shows the sample cross-sec- viscosity measurements of each sample at 1 300°C. The
tion of ore J after baking. It is considered that the initial viscosity of sample No. 1, which had high contents of SiO2
melt have been generated in the boundary of the CaO and Al2O3, was the highest. And, viscosity was lowest in

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Fig. 7. Comparison of the measured and calculated viscosities in composition N with SiO2 addition.

sample No. 4, which had low contents of both compounds. a *Al2O3
aBibWAl2O3c .....................................(4)
The viscosity is largely dependent on the contents of SiO2
and Al2O3 in this tests, and these results have the same ten- a
1.20105T 24.3552102T41.16
dency as the measured results of the viscosity using b
1.40107T 23.4944104T0.2062
reagents described in the previous section.
c
8.00106T 22.5568102T22.16

4. Discussion
In Eq. (1), m o is the viscosity when the melt is a
4.1. Calculation and Evaluation of Viscosity of Melted monomolecular system. And Bi* is a modified basicity
Liquid with Extended Compositions index obtained from the composition of the melt and the in-
Iida et al.13) have proposed a calculating method using trinsic coefficient a i [i
Fe2O3 (aci.), CaO, SiO2, Al2O3,
network parameters which is applicable to molten fluxes in MgO]. These terms have the values calculated from Eqs.
steelmaking, blast furnace slag, etc. We attempted to apply (2) and (3), respectively. T is absolute temperature, and Xi is
a viscosity calculating equation to the results as mentioned mole concentration. Table 4 shows the values of m 0i of the
in Sec. 3.2. Figure 7(a) shows a comparison of the mea- constituent components used in this research.
sured and calculated viscosities for a system comprising In Eq. (3), the numerator is a term showing basic oxides,
composition N with added SiO2 in which the calculated vis- while the denominator is a term showing acidic oxides. Wi
cosities were obtained by original method.13) The compara- is the weight ratio of each component. Regarding the am-
tive difference defined by subtracting the measured value photeric oxides Fe2O3 and Al2O3, when both Fe2O3 and
from the calculated value and dividing by the measured Al2O3 were assumed to be acidic, the comparative differ-
value was a maximum of 80%. As described in Sec. 3.3, in ence between the measured and calculated values became
the measured values, the rate of increase in viscosity tended smaller. Therefore, in calculating Bi*, Fe2O3 was assumed
to decrease with increasing SiO2 addition. But, as a result, to be acidic, as shown in Eq. (5).
the comparative difference increased more in higher viscos-
ity. Moreover, the difference became even greater when α CaOWCaOα MgOWMgO
Al2O3 or MgO was added. Bi *

α Fe2O3 ( aci.)WFe2O3  α SiO2WSiO2  α *Al2O3 WAl2O3
The equation proposed by Iida et al. would be applied to
slags consisting mainly of SiO2, CaO, and Al2O3, which is ...........................................(5)
significantly different from the high Fe2O3 compositions in
this research. Therefore, we attempted to modify the coeffi- Because the number of measurement points was limited
cients for calculation. Five components (Fe2O3, CaO, SiO2, in this research, it was difficult to optimize the intrinsic co-
Al2O3, and MgO) were considered as objects of the calcula- efficients for each component. Then, the original intrinsic
tion. The following Eq. (1) is the viscosity equation.13) coefficients of the basic oxides CaO and MgO and the
 E  acidic oxide SiO2 were used on the assumption that the be-
µ L
Aµ 0 exp   ...........................................(1) havior of the basic oxides CaO and MgO and the acidic
 Bi *  oxide SiO2 in the melt does not differ greatly from that in
steel slag. On the other hand, we attempted optimizations of
A
1.7451.962103T7.000107T 2
the intrinsic coefficients for the amphoteric compounds
E
11.113.65103T Fe2O3 and Al2O3. As the optimization procedure, the value
of a Fe2O3 was obtained for composition NSiO2 and com-
µ0
∑µ 0i X i
...............................(2)
position NMgO systems, and the value of a Al2O3 was de-
α Fe2O3WFe2O3 α CaOWCaOα MgOWMgO termined for composition NAl2O3 system. Table 4 shows
Bi *
.......(3) the original and modified values of the intrinsic coefficient
α SiO2WSiO2 α *Al2O2 WAl2O3 a i for the constituent components used in this work. To

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 ISIJ International, Vol. 45 (2005), No. 4

Table 4. Values for viscosity of monomolecular system m 0 and intrinsic coefficient a i.

Fig. 8. Comparison of the measured and calculated viscosities in composition N with MgO or Al2O3 addition.

evaluate melts in liquid-state, the composition range of the

components treated in these calculations was SiO2: 0 to 4
mass% and Al2O3 and MgO: 0 to 2 mass%.
Figure 7(b) shows the results for composition N+SiO2
system, comparing the measured and calculated viscosities
obtained with the modified intrinsic coefficients. The com-
parative difference between the two was a maximum of
46%, showing improved accuracy. However, because the in-
crease rate of the viscosity with SiO2 addition differs in the
measured and calculated values, further improvement in ac-
curacy is considered difficult. The reason of this improve-
ment is modification of intrinsic coefficient of Fe2O3.
Fig. 9. Estimation of calculated value using the optimized para-
Figure 8(a) and 8(b) show the comparisons of the mea-
meters on sample M.
sured and calculated values for composition NMgO sys-
tem and composition NAl2O3 system, respectively. The
maximum comparative difference was 52% for MgO addi- fect of basicity in the liquid phase, same as in the case of
tion and 44% for Al2O3 addition. As shown in Fig. 8, the Fe2O3. And this consideration agrees with the finding19) that
conformity of MgO addition is worse than that of Al2O3 ad- the Al2O3 contributes largely to increase viscosity at higher
dition, because the value of a MgO used in this research was basicities.
optimized for low Fe2O3 melt. Because viscosity increase On the other hand, when the intrinsic coefficient modi-
behavior with both Al2O3 and MgO addition differs in the fied formerly was applied to composition M (Table 1), the
measured and calculated values depending on the tempera- comparative difference was more than 300 %. We therefore
ture and amount of addition, further improvement in accu- attempted to optimize the intrinsic coefficient of Fe2O3 and,
racy is also considered difficult in these two substances, as a result, obtained another parameters shown in Table 4.
as with composition NSiO2. With the composition When Fe2O3 was assumed to be basic in composition M
NAl2O3MgO system, accuracy was comparatively good and the contribution of Al2O3 was excluded due to no mea-
(difference: 14%), as shown in Fig. 8(a). surement of composition MAl2O3 system, calculation ac-
The intrinsic coefficient for Al2O3 given by using Eq. (4), curacy was satisfactory. Figure 9 shows a comparison of
is 340 to 1 725 under the measurement conditions, and thus the measured results and the values calculated using the op-
differs greatly from the value of 0.667 obtained in this re- timized parameters for sample M. In the temperature range
port. It is considered that the difference is caused by the ef- of 1 300–1 400°C, the comparative difference was within

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 ISIJ International, Vol. 45 (2005), No. 4

10%. Eq. (6), based on the assumption that solid particles in

Next, Fig. 10 shows a comparison of the measured val- melts are spheres of single diameter.22)
ues of initial melt composition at 1 300–1 400°C and the
calculated viscosities obtained with the modified intrinsic  3 
µ
µ L 1  ......................(6)
coefficient of sample N. The comparative difference was a  1 / S1 / φ VC 
maximum of 50%. All values of calculated viscosities are
lower than those of measured. It may be caused by the in-
f VC
0.52
teraction between components in the melt. To further im-
prove calculation accuracy, it is considered necessary to in- where, m L is the viscosity of the liquid phase, S is the volu-
crease the number of measurements and to determine more metric ratio of the solid phase, and f VC is the maximum
suitable intrinsic coefficients for all components. However, volumetric concentration of solids.
qualitative evaluation of viscosity obtained from chemical Few measurements of viscosity with the composition
composition is considered possible, and the results are ade- near sample N and M have been reported, and in particular,
quate for understanding the melt fluidity of sinter. data at sintering temperatures around 1 300°C are seldom.
Therefore, the melt viscosity was calculated for a wide
4.2. Calculation of Viscosity of Suspension Melts range of compositions at 1 300°C. As shown in Fig. 11, the
Various calculation models for the viscosity of suspen- Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 ternary system can be divided into the
sions have been reported.20–23) However, among these, the liquid phase regions (1) and (7) and the solid–liquid coexis-
equation proposed by Mori et al.22) was adopted as a funda- tence regions (2) to (6) and (8) to (14). The liquid phase
mental equation in this discussion. It is considered that the composition and solid phase ratio were obtained from the
equation provides comparatively high accuracy in the wide phase diagram and used to calculate viscosity. The value of
solid phase ratio range. Viscosity, m , can be described by m L was calculated using the Eq. (1) in Sec. 4.1. For the in-
trinsic coefficient, the values of composition M were used
under basicities from 1 to 2 and the values of composition
N were used under basicities higher than 2. In calculating
the volumetric ratio, S, of the solid phase, the specific grav-
ity of liquid and solid were necessary. Measured values for
the specific gravity of the liquid at 1 300°C were not
found. Therefore, in consideration of the specific gravity
at 1 400°C as 3.9–4.2 g/cm3 24) and the temperature
dependency of the specific gravity with the composition
Fe2O3/FeO/CaO
7.35/1.29/24.96 (mass%) as 1.635
103 g/cm3/K,24) we have concluded the appropriate specific
gravity for the liquid phase as 3.9 g/cm3. And we have used
the specific gravity of the hematite (Fe2O3) solid as
5.287 g/cm3, 3.38 g/cm3 as 2CaO · SiO2 (hereinafter called
C2S), and 3.015 g/cm3 as 3CaO · SiO2 (hereinafter called
C3S).25) Because the available specific gravity for
2CaO · Fe2O3 (hereinafter called C2F) was not found, we
have put the value as 4.49 g/cm3, estimated on the propor-
tional distribution of the weight ratios of Fe2O3 and CaO.
Fig. 10. Comparison of the measured and calculated viscosities
with initial melt composition.
The results of viscosity calculations at 1 300°C are

Fig. 11. Iso-thermal section through the Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 system at 1 300°C.

C3S2: 3CaO · 2SiO2, C2S: 2CaO · SiO2, C2F: 2CaO · Fe2O3, CF: CaO · Fe2O3.

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 ISIJ International, Vol. 45 (2005), No. 4

Fig. 12. Calculated iso-viscosity line in the Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 system at 1 300°C.

shown in Fig. 12. Due to the restriction of the maximum controlled appropriately. Moreover, because the coke used
volumetric concentration f VC of the solid phase in the melt, as a heat source contains SiO2 and Al2O3 in the form of ash,
a fluid condition appears at the composition inside the line fine dispersion is useful from the viewpoint of controlling
of limitation (solid phase ratio S
0.52). the melt composition.
In the regions (1) and (7) as shown in Fig. 11, the viscos-
ity is relatively influenced by the SiO2 composition. In the
5. Conclusions
regions (2) and (6), the intervals of the iso-viscosity line are
narrow because the compositions of regions (2) and (6) are In order to understand the basic physical properties of
close to those of suspended solid. In the regions (4) and (5), the melts formed during iron ore sintering, the viscosity of
the iso-viscosity lines extend toward the composition of melted liquid using reagents and iron ores were measured
C2S, because C2S solid phase ratio increase gradually with and the viscosity of suspension was calculated. The follow-
decreasing of Fe2O3 contents. ing conclusions were obtained.
In the regions (8) to (14), the neighbor of the region (7), (1) With low-melting point compositions of the
also the iso-viscosity lines extend toward the Fe2O3, CS and Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 system, the viscosity of high SiO2 con-
C2S. tent melts was 5 times higher than that of low SiO2 content
On the other hand, the two liquid regions (1) and (7) in melts. Moreover, the viscosity of low SiO2 content in-
Fig. 11 become a single region above 1 315°C. When vis- creased with addition of Al2O3 and SiO2. Similarly, with
cosity at 1 350°C or higher was calculated by the method melt compositions generated from actual ores, viscosity de-
described above, inconsistencies occurred in the viscosity pended on the contents of Al2O3 and SiO2.
values with the compositions where these regions combine. (2) An intrinsic coefficient for low-melting point com-
This is due to the difference in the viscosity equations for positions of the Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 system melts was pro-
the two liquid phase regions, and in particular, suggests the posed in the calculation of viscosity, enabling qualitative
possibility that the intrinsic coefficient a of the amphoteric evaluation of viscosity based on the melt composition.
oxide Fe2O3 changes sensitively in response to basicity. (3) The viscosity distribution of the solid-liquid coexis-
Further study of this point is necessary. tence phase at 1 300°C in the ternary composition system
Fe2O3–CaO–SiO2 was obtained using a viscosity equation
4.3. Control of Melt Fluidity Behavior by Composition for suspensions.
of Melts
Low SiO2 content melts have lower viscosity, as also Nomenclature
mentioned in concerned with the viscosity measurements of h : Measured viscosity of melt (Pa s)
compositions M and N. From the viewpoint of improving m : Viscosity of melt (Pa s)
the fluidity of melts, preventing the formation of a high m L: Viscosity of liquid phase (Pa s)
SiO2 content melt can be considered effective. Then, SiO2 m 0: Viscosity of non-network forming melts (Pa s)
should be dispersed uniformly in the raw material with the m 0i: Viscosity of component i of non-network form-
composition range near the region (1) as shown in Fig.11. ing melts (Pa s)
However, on the other hand, processes in which SiO2 or Bi : Basicity index ()
Al2O3 are localized in the material have also been proposed Bi*: Modified basicity index ()
from the viewpoint of keeping enough fluidity of melt. In Wi: Weight fraction of component i ()
this case, although the sintering with which the contents of Xi: Mole fraction of component i ()
SiO2 or Al2O3 is partially low in the materials can be per- S: Volumetric ratio of solid phase ()
formed satisfactorily, the sintering in the other part have f VC: Maximum volumetric concentration of solid
low fluidity of melts and sintering temperature should be ()

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 ISIJ International, Vol. 45 (2005), No. 4

T: Temperature (K) (1999), 711.

a i: Intrinsic coefficient of component i 11) K. Seki, F. Oeters: Trans. Iron Steel Inst. Jpn., 24 (1984), 445.
12) T. Yasukouchi, K. Nakashima and K. Mori: Tetsu-to-Hagané, 85
a *Al2O3: Modified intrinsic coefficient of Al2O3 (1999), 571.
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14) S. Sumita, T. Mimori, K. Morinaga and T. Yanagase: J. Jpn. Inst.
i: Component (Fe2O3(aci), CaO, SiO2, Al2O3,
Met., (1980), 94.
MgO) 15) N. Hori, Y. Saito, K. Nakashima and K. Mori: CAMP-ISIJ, 15
(2002), 797.
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