Microstructure, permeability and rheological behavior of lost foam refractory coatings

The effect of microstructure on rheology and permeability of three commercial lost foam refractory coatings available on the market called samples I, II, and III, respectively was investigated in this study. Thermal gravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) method was used for detailed analysis of the organic components and to determine the thermal stability of the coatings. Particle shape and size and particle size distribution (PSD) were obtained by optical microscopy and morphological studies were carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also the scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDXA) technique was used for elemental analysis of refractory particles. To determine the crystalline structure of the samples, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was carried out. Permeability measurements were conducted with a modified apparatus originally used for determining the permeability of casting sand. Finally the rheological behavior of the samples was investigated using a rotating coaxial rheometer to provide the flow curve for coating suspensions. The studies revealed that coating I has the highest permeability, which can be due to its large mean particle size and wide particle size distribution (PSD). Furthermore it was found that the investigated refractory coatings behave as non-Newtonian fluids with shear thinning behavior. All coatings exhibited yield stresses, indicate that they behave as Bingham-type pseudoplastic fluids.