Introduction to the use of refractory materials in the steel industry

Refractory materials for blast furnaces: The development of blast furnace ceramic cups by magnesia carbon brick manufacturers is becoming increasingly common. The price of magnesia carbon bricks requires the application of corrosion-resistant refractory materials to ensure their extended service life. In addition to design changes, there have also been significant changes in the reverse side of refractory materials, such as microporous carbon bricks replacing ordinary carbon blocks in the past to reduce the penetration of molten iron. Used clay bricks as raw materials can better meet the requirements of the use of blast furnace mud at the tap hole, The use of grouting method for repairing the blast furnace lining can effectively prevent the erosion of hot air flow in the lining, thereby extending the service life of the blast furnace lining. 

Refractory materials for converter: In the field of converter steelmaking, a water-cooling technology and a suspension system have been applied in the upper conical part and lower barrel part of the converter shell, respectively, to reduce the deformation of the converter body, extend the life of the converter lining, and improve converter productivity. The application of these new technologies has had a certain impact on the use of refractory materials, increasing the converter life to an average of over 4000 heats, and in addition, spray repair, The application of high lime and dolomite, as well as the application of slag splashing furnace protection technology, is not a problem if the furnace life exceeds 10000 times. This is a development direction worthy of attention in refractory material production.

Immersion nozzle for continuous casting: Due to the development of continuous casting systems, the tundish has changed from a former transfer station to a metallurgical container that affects the quality and productivity of cast steel. Therefore, many functional materials are gradually applied in the tundish, such as slag blocking weirs, impact plates, filters, and argon blowing plugs.

As an important functional refractory material for continuous casting, the research focus of the submerged nozzle is mainly on two aspects. Firstly, improving the corrosion resistance of the slag line, increasing the ZrO ₂ content to 88%, and optimizing the particle size distribution can reduce the thermal expansion rate and porosity of the product, improve the density, and improve the slag corrosion resistance. In addition, it is necessary to closely monitor the technological progress of the user industry, such as the direct reduction iron that has emerged in recent years, and the requirements of new processes such as DC arc furnace steelmaking for refractory materials.