Author(s)

O. A. Olasupo, J. O. Borode

Engineering Infrastructure Department,National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure,PMB 391, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria.
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department,The Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.

Insulating refractory ramming mass was developed from suitable Nigerian refractory raw materials. Rammed samples from several ratios of clay, silica, mica, bentonite and calcium aluminate cement (Durax) were prepared using the American Foundrymen Society (AFS) standard rammer. They were thereafter tested for such properties as apparent porosity, volumetric firing shrinkage, cold compression strength, green compression strength, loss on ignition, thermal shock resistance and refractoriness. Results indicate that eight ramming cycles were just enough for the production of the ramming masses. Two optimal ratios obtained from the experiments have a refractoriness of 1500℃ , good compression strength and excellent thermal shock resistance. They are therefore recommended for lining of rotary furnaces and crucible furnaces for the melting of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys. It could be concluded that the ramming mass serve as a viable alternative to foreign ramming mass at the same temperature application.

Insulating Refractory, Nigerian Refractory Raw Materials

O. Olasupo and J. Borode, "Development of Insulating Refractory Ramming Mass from Some Nigerian Refractory Raw Materials," Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, Vol. 8 No. 9, 2009, pp. 667-678. doi: 10.4236/jmmce.2009.89058.