Resin-bonded, Al-containing magnesia refractories have been an alternative of rebonded fused-grains magchrome bricks to be used as inner lining in the snorkels and lower vessel of RH degassers, having the advantages of being chrome-free and energy-saving(without burning), with a comparable performance. Microstructural investigations indicate that metal Al powder remains independent in the matrix after heating at 700 ℃ and 900 ℃, and Al_4C_3, Al_2OC and Al_4O_4C crystalline whiskers start forming from 1 100 ℃. The whiskers grow and connect into a network matrix with increasing temperatures,remaining up to 1 600 ℃. Comparison of used bricks from different snorkels indicates a strong whisker networks formation in the brick achieving long service life and superior performance, which is attributed to flexible network structure of stable and interwoven whiskers. On contrary, there is a strongly-oxidized layer on the hot face and almost no whisker found anywhere in the brick with the short service life. It is vital to form the bonding phase of whiskers at high temperatures,generating overall properties of high hot strength, high erosion resistance and thermal shock resistance, which are essential in the working conditions of RH snorkels.
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