DESTRUCTION OF S I N T E R DURING REDUCTION

L. I. S h a s h e n k o v , G. A. S o k o l o v , UDC 622.785:658.562
A . M. C h e r n y s h e v , V , P. K o s s o v a ,
a n d P. E. L o s '

The ability of sinters and pellets to break during heating and reduction is presently considered one of the main
properties when evaluating m e t a l l u r g i c a l raw m a t e r i a l . The production of a strong and yet easily reducible product
capable of withstanding breaking loads in a blast furnace is an additional means for improving the operation of a
blast furnace, increasing productivity, improving the quality of pig iron, and reducing coke consumption.

At the A. A. Baikov Institute of Metallurgy (IMET), A c a d e m y of Sciences of the USSR, we investigated the
b r e a k a b i l i t y of industrial Ketch and Magnitogorsk sinters in a cold state and during reduction. The tests were carried
out on a d e v i c e designed and manufactured at IMET [1]. The c h e m i c a l composition of the sinters is as follows, %:
Cao
Fetot. FeO Fe2Os CaO SIO, S C Mn SiO2

Ketch .... 45;51 17.60 45.50 14.81 12,50 -- 0.24 2,14 1.19
Magnitogorsk .... 58,4 9,50 72,94 7,82 5.30 0.018 0,18 -- 1,47

The sample of sinter (70-80 g) with a grain size of 10-12 mm was loaded into the working tube of the device
and subjected to i m p a c t loads by rocking the device 250 times an hour at room temperature so that the sampte a l -
ternately struck one grate and then the other in the ends of the working tube. The specific load applied to the s a m -
ple in so doing was 110 kgf" m / k g . At 1 2 - m i n intervals during the experiment we collected the 3 - m m fines formed
on striking the grate which were caught in a special trap under one of the grates.

In ~he tests of b r e a k a b i l i t y of the sinters during ~heir heating and reduction the sample loaded into the device
was at first heated in nitrogen to a prescribed temperature and then the furnace-rocking mechanism was turned on.
A reducing gas (35% CO+65% N2 or 35% H2+65 At) was a d m i t t e d into the tube at a rate of 2 n l / m i n . The t e m p e r a -
ture was maintained constant during the experiment. The sinter was cooled in'nitrogen to 50-100~ in a stationary
furnace. After the test the sample, extracted from the furnace, was screened and the total surface of pieces of all
sinter fractions was calculated. The strength of the sinter was estimated by the method given in [2] by the m a g n i -
tude of work necessary for the formation of a unit of new surface (kgf" m/cm2). The degree of reduction of the sinter
was determined by the ratio of the oxygen removed during the e x p e r i m e n t to its i n i t i a l content bound with iron in
the starting sample.
The s t r e n g t h - t e m p e r a t u r e curves obtained as a result of the investigation illustrate the character of destruction
of the Ketch and Magnitogorsk sinters during their reduction. As we see from the carves in Figl 1, some decrease of
strength is observed a l r e a d y in experiments with a reduction temperature of about 300~ Both sinters have a m i n i -
mum strength during isothermal reduction at 400-500~ in this case the degree of reduction for them is about 5%.
With an increase of reduction temperature from 600 to 900~ the breakability of the sinters decreases. S i m u l t a n e -
ously with the increase of test temperature the quantity of oxygen removed from the iron oxides increases (to 37.0%).

The difference in strength and the degree of weakening of the investigated materials during testing in a cold
state and during reduction are related with the c h e m i c a l and phase compositions of the sinters. In the case of a high
iron content the Magnitogorsk sinter has a sufficiently good crystalline binder (mainly complex calcium ferrites, fer-
r o m o n t i c e l l i t e , and hedenbergite), which cements the m a g n e t i t e and h e m a t i t e grains. The quantity of h e m a t i t e , c a l -
culated from the data of the c h e m i c a l analysis, amounts to about 48% in the Magnitogorsk sinter.

A. A, Baikov Institute of Metallurgy, A c a d e m y of Science~ of the USSR, Translated from Metallurg, No. 12,
pp, 10-11, December, 1973.

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852
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i/lJ
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N 40 - - - - - - @ , r 1 6 2
; 2'i j iii - - _

2 # # 8 It7 1Z
Reduction temp. ~ Screen holes, m m

Fig. I Fig, 2

Fig. I. Effect of temperature on the strength and degree of reduction upon reduction of Magnitogorsk
(a) and Ketch (b) sinters.
Fig. 2, Effect of reduction temperature (numbers near curves) on the final screen composition of the
sample.

The m i n e r a l o g i c a l composition of the Ketch sinter is characterized "by a large quantity of vitreous (up to 35%)
and s m a l l quantity of crystalline binder (7-14%). The ore phase has a considerable content of m a g n e t i t e (to 47%)
and s m a l l content of h e m a t i t e (to 13%). The vitreous binder adversely affects the strength of the Kerch sinters in a
cold state. We see from Fig. I that the strength of the Kerch sinter at 20~ is lower than the strength of the Magnito-
gorsk. This is confirmed also by the screenings of the sinter in the blast furnace shops of the Azovstal' Plant and
Magnitogorsk M e t a l l u r g i c a l Combine, where the content of class 5 - 0 m m is about 35.0 and 15.0% , respectively.

We should note the different character of destruction of the sinter pieces in the cold state and during reduction
(Fig. 2). In the first case the sinter pieces break m a i n l y from the surface, so that the irregularities are smoothed out
and the projections are sheared off, adding to the 3 - 0 - r a m fraction. During t o w - t e m p e r a t u r e reduction the sinter
pieces are broken into individual parts and on screening the reaction products there are particles of all sizes from
12 to 0 m m . In this case at 400-500"C the screening products contain up to 80% of the 0 - 5 - m m fraction, and the
original 1 0 - 1 2 - r a m fraction is c o m p l e t e l y absent. At 600"C the fractional composition is more uniform,

At 800-900"C up to 88% of the i n i t i a l fraction remains in the final screen analysis, which corresponds to the
character of destruction of the sinter in the cold state. The r e l a t i v e degree of weakening at 400-500~ for the M a g -
nitogorsk sinter is 22-fold and for the Kerch 5-fold. In this case the strength of the Magnitogorsk sinter is 3-5 times
less than that of the Ketch.

The strength of the Magnitogorsk sinter reduced at 800 and 900~ is commensurable with its strength in the
cold state: the difference is 1.6-fold and less. For the Kerch sinter the strength during reduction at high t e m p e r a -
tures often exceeds the i n i t i a l strength in the cold state. This can apparently be explained by the decrease of b r i t t l e -
ness of the vitreous binder during heating of the sinters. Probably the thermalstresses noticeably influence the strength
of the Ketch sinter, since its cooling rate during sintering exceeds the cooling rate of Magnitogorsk sinter.

The temperature of m i n i m u m strength of sinter during reduction according to the data of japanese investi-
gators [3] is close to that we obtained and is 500~ The considerably lower value of the temperature of m i n i m u m
strength in the present experiments in comparison with the temperature of the c r i t i c a l strength of Cherepovets sinter
(800~ given in [4] can be explained by the different load applied to the m a t e r i a l during the test. D y n a m i c loads,
unlike static, act on the p i e c e of sinter in different directions depending on the position of the p i e c e in space at the
t i m e of i m p a c t against the grate, which leads to a more c o m p l e t e r e a l i z a t i o n in it of the weakenings occurring dur-
ing reduction.

The transformation of h e m a t i t e to m a g n e t i t e accompanied by a general increase of volume (according to the

literature data) of 16.3% should apparently be considered the cause of the marked weakening at 400-500~ This

853
causes high stresses which lead to cracking of the sinter piece and to its separation into individual chunks upon i m -
pact. At temperatures above 600"C the reduction process develops more deeply and the magnetite is reduced to m e -
tallic iron. The reduction of magnetite to wustite and iron is accompanied by a decrease of volume, and therefore
the stresses occurring in the piece during reduction of hematite at 800-900"C are less thanat 400-500~ which is con-
firmed by experiments.

LITERATURE CITED
1. G, A. Sokolov, B, V, Nyrkin, L. I, Shashenkov, et al,, Author's Certificate No, 29441, Byul. Izobr, i Tov, Znakov,
No. 11, 264 (1972).
2. S.V. Bazilevich and O. P. Barzukov, Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Metally, No. 1, 34 (1968)o
3. S. Watanabe and M. Esinaga, Tetsuto-Hagane, 52, No, 3,488-491 (1966).
4. A . M . Chernyshev, T. Ya. Malyshev, G. P. Moreev, et al., Metallurg, No. 11, 3-5 (1969),

854