A research program is ongoing at the University of Missouri-Rolla to study refractories. The current research program is in the second year of a five-year extension of the original program, which ended in December 1993. The principle investigators are Drs. Robert E. Moore, Jeffrey D. Smith and Musa Karakus, The initial program concentrated on establishing a fundamental understanding of graphite-containing refractories used in the steel industry. Isothermal phase equilibria studies of the Al-Si-O-C system, including the determination of the pertinent ternary and quaternary phase stability diagrams, provided in-sightintoAl_2O_3/SiC/C refractories. Similar studies of the MgO/C system, with various metallic additions, indicated the importance of spinel formation. Spinel (MgAl_2O_4) is a highly refractory slag corrosion-resistant phase that forms in high concentrations near the hot face of the lining, greatly enhancing the resistance of the lining to erosive wear and penetration by slags and vapors. Efforts indicated the importance of the no condensed phase equilibria in systems that contain graphite, especially when metallic additives are utilized. Thermodynamic evaluations of the various no condensed magnesia-graphite metal systems were conducted. The results were presented in the form of volatility diagrams.
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