A Structurally Based Viscosity Model for Oxide Melts

• DOI: 10.1007/s11663-013-9980-z
• Publication Date: 2013-10-21T14:48:40Z
• Authors: Guo-Hua Zhang; Kuo-Chih Chou; Ken Mills
• Keywords: Ladle; Slag (welding); Refining (metallurgy)

A structurally based viscosity model is proposed to represent the viscosity of oxide melts as functions of both temperature and composition; The oxide melts cover the following constituents: Li2O, Na2O, K2O, MgO, CaO, SrO, BaO, FeO, MnO, Al2O3, SiO2, CaF2, TiO2, Fe2O3, and P2O5. The model describes the slag structure in terms of the various forms of oxygen ions which are classified according to the metal cations they bond with. Approximate methods for calculating the concentrations of these oxygen ions are proposed and are then used to describe the effect of melt structure on viscosity. The model provides a good description of the variations in viscosity with composition and temperature. The measured viscosities were compared with values calculated with the model, and the current model was found to provide reliable estimates of viscosities of slags used in various industrial processes (e.g., blast furnace, basic oxygen steelmaking, ladle refining, continuous casting of steel, coal gasification, and electroslag remelting).