STRENGTH OF INTERFACES IN METALLURGICAL COKE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON COKE ABRASION

摘要

Tribological and scratch testing techniques were applied to metallurgical coke samples to determine (1) the abrasive strengths of the coke microtextural constituents, and (2) the strength of the interfaces between the inertinite maceral derived components (IMDC) and the reactive maceral derived components (RMDC), as a function of the properties of the parent coal(s). These parameters were quantified via the application of advanced microscopy techniques and then related to fundamental coal properties, including rank and petrographic composition. As part of this approach, an acoustic-based method to measure the energy release, dispersal or absorption during coke fracture was developed. The results indicated that tribological and scratch testing techniques can be used to distinguish between cokes of different coal origin. One of the key findings was that RMDC abrasion is sensitive to coal rank. The essential next step will be to use the findings of this research to identify a path to help improve coke strength prediction and coke resistance to abrasion in the blast furnace.