Wetting of solid Al2O3 with molten CaO-Al2O3-SiO2

Abstract

The wetting behavior of solid Al2O3, with molten CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 was investigated at 1873 K using the sessile drop method. A new model was developed to represent the time dependence of the contact angle, i.e., the spreading behavior of a liquid drop on a solid substrate. The model takes into consideration chemical interactions which continually take place at the interface between the solid Al2O3 and molten CaO-Al2O3-SiO2. By applying the model to the experimental results of the present study the equilibrium contact angle between the liquid slag and solid alumina was determined for a number of different slag compositions, and an iso-contact angle diagram was constructed. The equilibrium contact angle was greatly affected by the slag composition, and it was found that the interfacial tension was the major factor governing the equilibrium contact angle. In the region of low SiO2 content, the slag with higher CaO content exhibits a smaller contact angle, i.e., better wettability with alumina. For slag with a given CaO/SiO2 ratio, an increase in Al2O3 results in a corresponding increase in the contact angle, i.e., decrease in wettability. For a given CaO/Al2O3 ratio, the variation of the contact angle with SiO2 content shows a minimum. The contact angle decreases by increasing the surface roughness of the alumina substrate.