Effect of Oxygen Partial Pressure on the Formation Mechanisms of Complex Ca-rich Ferrites

The formation mechanisms of the complex Ca-rich ferrite iron ore sinter bonding phases SFCA and SFCA-I, during heating of a synthetic sinter mixture in the range 298–1623 K and at pO2 = 0.21, 5 × 10–3 and 1 × 10–4 atm, were determined using in situ X-ray diffraction. SFCA and, in particular, SFCA-I are desirable bonding phases in iron ore sinter, and improved understanding of the effect of parameters such as pO2 on their formation may lead to improved ability to maximise their formation in industrial sintering processes. SFCA-I and SFCA were both observed to form at pO2 = 0.21 and 5 × 10–3 atm, with the formation of SFCA-I preceding SFCA formation in each case, but via distinctly different mechanisms at each pO2. No SFCA-I was observed at pO2 = 1 × 10–4 atm; instead, a Ca-rich phase designated CFAlSi, formed at 1420 K. By 1456 K, CFAlSi had decomposed to form melt and a small amount of SFCA. Such a low pO2 during heating of industrial sinter mixtures is, therefore, undesirable, since it would not result in the formation of an abundance of SFCA and SFCA-I bonding phases. In addition, CFA phase, which was determined by Webster et al. (Metall. Mater. Trans. B, 43(2012), 1344) to be a key precursor phase in the formation of SFCA at pO2 = 5 × 10–3 atm, was also observed to form at pO2 = 0.21 and 1 × 10–4 atm, with the amount decreasing with increasing pO2.