RHI Bulletin > 1 > 2010, pp.

13–17

Milos Blajs, René von der Heyde, Peter Fritsch and Roland Krischanitz

COMPAC SOL—The New Generation of Easy,

Safe, and Fast Heat-Up No Cement Castables
Monolithic linings are gaining more and more importance for lining stationary units within a
cement line, including the cyclones, calciner, inlet chamber, kiln hood, and cooler. However,
the advantages in terms of installation time and complexity of installation in geometrically
complex areas are often counterbalanced by the more complicated drying and heat-up
requirements. This presents a problem especially in areas such as the kiln hood, cooler, or
burner lance, which cannot be dried properly unless a complex drying procedure is carried
out with additional auxiliary burners. RHI has developed a solution to counteract this disad-
vantage by developing sol-bonded castables that provide the possibility for faster and easier
drying and heat-up in comparison to cement-bonded castables. These sol-bonded castables
have been introduced to the market under the brand name COMPAC SOL.

Introduction The current sol-bonded castable product range comprises

The new castables with sol bonding significantly simplify
the heat-up procedure required until now. This makes these
materials very interesting for smaller repairs as well as for
areas where complex drying and heat-up is very difficult or
only possible with considerable effort and thus in practice
rarely performed correctly, for example in the kiln hood,
clinker cooler, and burner pipe. The new product line,
termed COMPAC SOL, is based on a completely different
bonding system comprising nanoparticle silica. The special
binder is delivered separately from the mix. This bonding
system replaces the conventional cement binder and its
complex system of calcium aluminate phases, thereby pro-
viding a wide range of advantages. The main benefits of the
new COMPAC SOL mixes are:
>> No predrying requirement.
>> Fast and easy heat-up procedure.
>> Reduced ambient temperature impact on final product
properties.
>> Reduced sensitivity to incorrect dosing of the mixing
fluid.
>> Easily adjusted to the desired setting time.
>> Higher refractoriness compared to equivalent cement-
bonded products.
>> Improved chemical resistance (e.g., alkali as well as
­sulphur) compared to equivalent cement-bonded
­products.
>> Longer shelf life than low cement castables (LCC).
fireclay, mullite, and bauxite for all the main applications in
the cement line such as the lower cyclone stages, calciner,
inlet chamber, riser duct, tertiary air duct, kiln hood, cooler,
bull nose, and clinker bed (Table I). For severe operating
conditions involving alkaline attack or where there is the
danger of coating formation, castables containing silicon
carbide are also available.
Bonding Mechanisms
Calcium aluminate cements are the most common binders
for nonbasic castables. The cement provides a certain level
of CaO within the castable, depending on the type of mono-
lithic and amount of cement used (e.g., conventional casta-
bles (CC), low cement castables (LCC), and ultra low cement
castables (ULCC)). The water added during monolithic
processing reacts with the cement phases to form hydrates,
which result in bonding of the concrete. At low tempera-
tures, undried cement-bonded castables are very dense and
have low gas permeability. During the first heat-up, initially
the physically bonded water evaporates and subsequently
the chemically bonded water within the hydrate phases is
lost. Since a variety of different hydrates are formed, the
entire dehydration process takes place over a broad temper-
ature range (up to 600 °C). Consequently, the entire drying
procedure has to be carried out very carefully and slowly as
inside the concrete a very high steam pressure can develop.
During the drying process, the bonding effect is partially
reduced and the porosity increases.

Grade Al2O3 SiO2 Fe2O3 SiC CCS (N/mm2) TE TC (W/mK) ATL AR SL Raw material
(wt.%) (wt.%) (wt.%) (wt.%) 110 °C 1000 °C (%) 400 °C 800 °C 1200 °C (°C) (cm3) (Months)
COMPAC SOL 160 52.5 44.0 0.8 - 70 110 0.55 1.50 1.60 1.80 1600 9.0 12 Dense fire clay,
low iron
COMPAC SOL 170A 64.0 32.0 0.9 - 70 115 0.55 1.80 1.75 1.95 1700 7.0 12 Mullite
COMPAC SOL 170 87.0 9.1 0.9 - 70 140 0.60 2.20 2.30 2.40 1700 7.0 12 Bauxite
COMPAC SOL 123SIC 39.0 29.5 0.6 30 70 105 0.55 2.70 2.68 2.62 1550 8.5 12 Dense fire clay,
low iron/SiC
COMPAC SOL 155SIC 46.5 22.0 0.5 30 70 110 0.55 2.75 2.72 2.81 1550 8.0 12 Andalusite/SiC

Table I. Product range of sol-bonded castables for the cement industry. Abbreviations include cold crushing strength (CCS), thermal
expansion (TE), thermal conductivity (TC), application temperature limit (ATL), abrasion resistance (AR), and shelf life (SL).

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 RHI Bulletin > 1 > 2010

In comparison to cement-bonded castables, sol-bonded

100
castables have a completely different bonding system. The
dry mix does not contain any binder, which provides advan- 90
tages in terms of shelf life and storage. The binder is added 80
during the mixing procedure in the form of a liquid sol that
70
contains nano-sized silica particles. The mixing procedure is

Emitted water [%]

similar to that for cement-bonded castables except the 60

DIVASIL fluid binder is added instead of water. The setting 50

mechanism is based on a condensation reaction, during
40
which water is released and Si-O-Si bonds are created. In
contrast to the cement bonding, no hydrate phases are 30

formed. Additionally, there is no loss of bonding strength 20

during the dehydration process, but further Si-O-Si bonds n Sol-gel
10
are created that even effect an increase in the bonding n Cement (8 wt.%)
0
strength.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Time [h]
As a consequence of the fundamentally different bonding
mechanisms, cement and sol-bonded castables have a com- Figure 1. Drying behaviour of a cement-bonded castable (8 wt.%
pletely different porosity development and drying behav- cement) compared to a sol-bonded castable at 150 °C. The
iour. After setting, the water in sol-bonded castables is not amount of water incorporated in both concretes was approxi-
mately the same. In the case of sol-bonding, weight constancy
bonded and consequently easily removable. Therefore, the was achieved after a very short drying period at a constant tem-
main water component within the gel structure is released perature of only 150 °C, due to the high permeability at low tem-
at very low temperatures (Figure 1). Only a very low peratures. Only approximately 5% of the chemically bonded
water remained in the castable.
amount of water (approximately 5%), which is bonded in
hydroxyl groups, is released at higher temperatures. The
different pore size distribution (Figure 2) results in a higher
70
permeability of sol-bonded castables at low temperatures
n Sol-gel
that further facilitates dehydration (Figure 3). As a conse- n Cement
60
quence, colloidally bonded castables are far less susceptible
to dangerously high steam pressures, whereby the drying
50
time can be significantly reduced.
40
Vol.% x 0.2

Processing Properties of Sol-Bonded Castables

30
As previously mentioned, the liquid colloidal silica binder,
which is delivered separately from the castable, is mixed
20
with the dry material shortly before installation. In contrast
to LCC, the concrete is fluidized even after a few seconds of 10
mixing. As a result the required mixing time can be reduced
to 2–3 minutes. 0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000

The behaviour of sol-bonded castables is comparable to Pore size [µm]

that of conventional, cement-rich castables in regard to dos-
Figure 2. Pore size distribution of cement- and sol-bonded high
ing of the mixing fluid and an inaccurate dosing of the mix-
alumina castables after drying at 110 °C.
ing fluid (i.e., binder) does not have such a serious impact
on physical properties, as is the case with LCC and ULCC.
100
Trials have also shown that ambient temperature conditions 0
have a far lower impact on the setting behaviour of sol-
bonded castables as is the case for LCC, which provides sig- -200
nificant advantages during application. For a mix that was
Vaporization rate [ppm/min]

adjusted to a processing time of 30 minutes at an ambient -400

temperature of 20 °C the curing was only retarded by

-600
approximately 15 minutes when it was exposed to 5 °C.
Higher ambient temperatures cause a slightly faster setting -800
(Figure 4). However, it must be mentioned that the binder
should not be exposed to temperatures below 5 °C because -1000
it flocculates and is no longer applicable. The colloidal silica
-1200 n Sol-gel
must be stored and transported in closed and optically
n Cement
opaque vessels at temperatures between 5 °C and 25 °C.
-1400
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Alkali Resistance Temperature [°C]

Refractory resistance to alkali attack is an important issue

Figure 3. Determination of vaporization rates using thermal
for modern cement lines that fire high levels of alternative gravimetric analysis illustrating that sol-bonded castables
fuels. This can be investigated using the crucible infiltration release all the water at temperatures below 100 °C.

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 RHI Bulletin > 1 > 2010

50

40
Setting time [min]

30

20

(a)
10

0
5 20 35
Temperature [°C]

Figure 4. Setting times of a sol-bonded castable at different

ambient temperatures. The concrete was adjusted to a process-
ing time of 30 minutes at 20 °C

test, in which a crucible produced from the material to be

examined is filled with a mixture of potassium carbonate (b)
and potassium sulphate and heated to 1200 °C. This proce-
dure is repeated until the crucible cracks or is completely Figure 5. Crucible test with (a) DIDURIT 160 after 3 cycles and (b)
COMPAC SOL 160 after 7 cycles.
destroyed. This alkali test is usually stopped at the end of a
cycle, whenever a crack or fissure is detected by optical
examination of the crucible walls and base. The results of
Installation conditions
this test comparing COMPAC SOL with a comparable LCC
are presented in Figure 5. While the standard LC fireclay Outside air temperature -12.0 °C
castable crucible showed damage after the third cycle, the Ambient temperature near calciner - 4.5 °C
first structural damage detected in the sol-bonded COMPAC Inside calciner temperature 5.7 °C
SOL 160 material occurred only after the seventh cycle. This
Material temperature 1.6 °C
result impressively demonstrates the high alkali resistance
Sol temperature 5.0 °C
of sol-bonded castables.
Material temperature after mixing 6.1 °C
References Table II. Installation conditions for COMPAC SOL 123SIC.
References and in service performance data have been
obtained for various COMPAC SOL applications not only in
by adding 0.03% accelerator, resulting in a setting time of
the cement industry but also in the steel sector (e.g., electric
approximately 2 hours. This application demonstrates that
arc furnace roofs and coke oven doors). These results have
although precautionary measures have to be taken because
demonstrated the advantageous properties in terms of dry-
the fluid sol should not be exposed to temperatures below
ing and heat-up as well as the uncomplicated application of
5 °C, it is possible to successfully conduct installations of
these types of castables. The following sections detail vari-
sol-bonded castables in winter.
ous references from the cement industry.

Nose Ring Installation

Calciner Installation
In a 4.8 m diameter suspension preheater kiln, COMPAC
In January 2010, the upper part of a calciner was repaired
SOL 155SIC was used to line a test field in the nose ring
and partially lined with COMPAC SOL 123SIC. In order not
section and was juxtaposed to an equivalent competitor
to delay the installation progress, it was necessary to adjust
cement-bonded SIC castable. The customer confirmed that
the castable and reduce the setting time. Originally, there
mixing and application of the COMPAC SOL was easy and
was a waiting time of 8–12 hours before the moulds could
comparable to cement-bonded castables. The castable lin-
be stripped. In total, four fields had to be lined with 800 kg
ing was not dried before heat-up. Figure 6 shows the lining
of COMPAC SOL 123SIC. The installation conditions (Table II)
during an unscheduled stoppage due to a brick failure after
were challenging for castable installation because the ambi-
about 5 weeks in operation. It can be seen that the field
ent temperature was -12 °C. In order to fulfil the require-
lined with COMPAC SOL 155SIC had an even surface with-
ment of fast setting, an accelerator was added to the dry
out any crack formation or spalling. In contrast, the adjacent
castable and mixed for 1 minute with a horizontal paddle
lining comprising an equivalent LCC showed clear signs of
mixer. Subsequently, the fluid sol was added and mixed for
crack formation and spalling.
a further 2–3 minutes.

Cooler Installation—Horseshoe
Even under such difficult conditions, the COMPAC SOL
123SIC material was easy to apply (i.e., pouring and vibrat- The recent installation of a horseshoe confirmed the excel-
ing). In addition, the setting time was adjusted successfully lent processing and adjustability of the sol-based castables

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 RHI Bulletin > 1 > 2010

for very difficult installation conditions. Approximately Inlet Cone

8 tonnes of COMPAC SOL 155SIC were installed at ambient
temperatures of around and slightly below 0 °C. As the
castable was stored correctly it was possible to keep the
mix temperature at about 10 °C. Despite the fact that cast-
ing the largest parts of the horseshoe (approximately 3.5
tonnes with a mixer capacity of only 150–200 kg) took about
3 hours, the mix was adjusted so that 3.5 hours after the
final vibrating, the moulds could be stripped. In view of the
ambient temperatures this was a remarkable result. The
castable was easy to pour into the moulds, vibrate, and
deaerate. The field’s appearance was very homogeneous
without any cavity formation (Figure 7). This installation is plant to repair the cooler sidewall.
a very good example of the easy adjustability of COMPAC
SOL mixes for different installation circumstances and envi-
ronmental conditions, even if they are very challenging.
In February 2010, approximately 5 tonnes of COMPAC SOL
155SIC and 5 tonnes of COMPAC SOL 123SIC were installed
in an inlet cone (Figure 8). The ambient temperature was
about 5 °C. The dry materials and binder were both at
approximately 10 °C. The mixed material had mould out
times of about 8–10 hours and was reduced to 4 hours
using an accelerator. Since the repair time was very limited
and the kiln had to be rotated because of some ongoing
steel work, the setting time had to be reduced significantly.
10 tonnes of COMPAC SOL 123SIC were used in the same
A reference list of the trials that have been performed with
COMPAC SOL is detailed in Table III.

Country Product Lining area

Germany COMPAC SOL 155SIC Cooler
Germany COMPAC SOL 160 Air heater
Germany COMPAC SOL 123SIC Calciner
Germany COMPAC SOL 155SIC Nose ring
Germany COMPAC SOL 123SIC Cooler side wall
Germany COMPAC SOL 155SIC Inlet cone
Germany COMPAC SOL 155SIC Nose ring
Luxembourg COMPAC SOL 155SIC Planetary cooler inlet

Table III. Reference list of COMPAC SOL trials.

Figure 6. COMPAC SOL 155SIC (red boxed area) after approxi-

mately 5 weeks in operation in the nose ring section.

Figure 7. Horseshoe installation with COMPAC SOL 155SIC. Figure 8. COMPAC SOL 155SIC applied in the inlet cone.

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Conclusions
COMPAC SOL castables offer significant advantages due to
their unproblematic heat-up requirements. Especially in
areas that are difficult to heat or in the case of patch repairs
this can prevent initial lining damage occurring during the
heat-up procedure. Initial concerns regarding the fact that
the binder should not be exposed to temperatures below
5 °C have proved to be noncrucial, because all customers
that have used RHI’s COMPAC SOL products were able to
store them properly. The need for frost-free transportation
during wintertime was also not an issue. The references to
date have impressively shown that during wintertime
­COMPAC SOL products can be transported, processed,
and installed without problems even at temperatures
below 0 °C.

The multiple experiences during harsh winter conditions

when European cement plants have their annual repairs
showed that also under severe installation conditions the
processing and installation of COMPAC SOL castables can
be carried out without problems. On the contrary, advan-
tages due to the uncomplicated binder dosing and lower
setting behaviour sensitivity to ambient temperature repre-
sent additional advantages besides the heat-up behaviour.
The various applications also demonstrated that the materi-
als are easy to adjust to different and sometimes very diffi-
cult conditions. Furthermore, reduction of the setting time
does not result in a less customer-friendly workability since
all the customers have rated the workability as good or very
good.

Authors
Milos Blajs, RHI AG, Technology Center, Leoben, Austria.
René von der Heyde, RHI AG, Industrial Division, Mühlheim-Kärlich, Germany.
Peter Fritsch, RHI AG, Industrial Division, Urmitz, Germany.
Roland Krischanitz, RHI AG, Industrial Division, Vienna, Austria.
Corresponding author: Roland Krischanitz, roland.krischanitz@rhi-ag.com

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