Masters Theses

Abstract

"The ability of silica to carry a load to within a few degrees of its melting point and its tolerance for comparatively high concentrations of iron oxide and lime, have enabled it to maintain its position as the number one steelplant refractory. It is estimated that at least half of the volume of refractories used in the steel plant are silica bricks. Consequently the manufacture of silica refractories forms an industry of considerable importance.

Raw materials suitable for the manufacture of silica brick are widely distributed, but only a small number of deposits are used commercially for one reason or another.

Many workers have listed properties of raw materials necessary to permit their use in the manufacture of silica brick. The lists of important properties are strikingly similar. The order of importance is less definite, and the reason for each property and correlation between the properties of the raw materials and desirable properties in the finished product are much confused and the reports often contradictory.

Reports that a certain raw material is highly suited to the manufacture of silica brick seldom specify the exact type of brick that is to be made from the material. A brick unsuited for one application may give superior results in another. For continuous use at very high temperature a brick of pure cristobalite may be preferred to one of pure tridymite and even unconverted quartz is an excellent refractory in some instances.

There seems to be common agreement, however, at the present time that a high percentage of tridymite is desirable as a general rule due to the fact that the brick are very often mishandled in use. The high tridymite brick is more 'fool proof’ than ones with only quartz and cristobalite present....

In view of the contradictions existing in the literature it was decided to compare, by means of the x-ray spectrometer, the South African Silcrete with some American raw materials as regards the rate of inversion to tridymite"--Introduction, pages 1, 2, 4.

Advisor(s)

Planje, Theodore J., 1919-1980

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Ceramic Engineering

Publisher

Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy

Publication Date

1951

Pagination

vi, 75 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 72-73).

Rights

© 1951 Charles E. Shulze, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Silica -- AnalysisTridymite -- AnalysisBricks -- Analysis

Thesis Number

T 986

Print OCLC #

5985261

Electronic OCLC #

953421039

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