Refractory Materials Used In the Top and Bottom Blown Converter
A top and bottom blown converter is a smelting furnace for steel making by blowing oxygen into a converter from its top and bottom. The refractory materials used in the bottom air blower outlet are very important for the service life of the top and bottom blown converter.
In actual production, thermal factors and refractory factors have great impact on the corrosion of the bottom air blower outlet. Thermal factors mainly refer to the hot crack of the bottom air blower outlet. The cooling of the bottom blown air, the temperature gradient of the high temperature molten iron and repeated blowing-non-blowing operation result in sharp temperature changes, which cause the stress change in the refractory brick. In order to avoid the crack of the bottom air blower outlet, the selection of the refractory is very important.
MgO-C brick is made by adding flake graphite to magnesia aggregate. It can make up for the shortcomings of magnesia and avoid the crack of the bottom air blower outlet due to slag penetration. MgO-C brick improves the service life of the bottom air blower outlet.
With the improvement of the quality of the raw materials, the introduction of the metals and large vacuum extrusion equipment, the quality of MgO-C bricks are improved. In the mid-1980s, MgO-C brick replaced the magnesium dolomite brick to be used in the lining of the convertor. Especially since the 1990s, the crack resistance of MgO-C bricks was further improved due to the use of expanded graphite as a carbon source and the reducing of the elastic modulus.
In addition, ceramic insulation materials are used in the pure oxygen bottom blower outlet. It improves the service life of the bottom air blower outlet.
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