The Viscosity of Slag at High Temperatures

Abstract

ALTHOUGH the, data which have in recent years been accumulated on the behaviour of silicates at high temperatures possess a great interest and value from the points of view of the mineralogist and the geophysicist, a knowledge of the melting points and fields of stability of the silicates is not the most important factor for consideration in so far as application to the metallurgy of iron is concerned. In a study of the blast-furnace process what is of particular interest is the behaviour of the slag from the time it enters the zone of fusion until it is flushed from the slag-notch. In passing through this region where the smelting process occurs the most important physical property of the slag is its viscosity, while its most important chemical property is its desulphurising power.