Influence of basicity and temperature on bonding phase strength, microstructure, and mineralogy of high-chromium vanadium–titanium magnetite

Abstract

To develop a smelting process for the comprehensive utilization of high-chromium vanadium−titanium magnetite (HCVTM), the micro-sinter test was applied to investigate the influence of basicity and temperature on the HCVTM sinters. The bonding phase strength (BS) was tested via an electronic universal testing machine. The phase transformations of the HCVTM sinters were detected via X-ray diffraction (XRD), whereas the structure and mineralogy of the HCVTM sinters under different temperatures and basicities were detected via scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS). Our results demonstrate that the BS of the HCVTM sinters exhibits a slightly increasing tendency with an increase in temperature when the basicity is 2.4 and within the range of 2.8–4.0. Many cracks, small size crystals, and dependent phase structures are generated by increasing the sinter basicity. The BS is lower than 4000 N when the basicity is 2.2 and 2.8. When the temperature is in the range of 1280–1300°C, the BS exceeds 4000 N with the basicity of 2.0, 2.4, and 3.4–4.0. The pore size of the HCVTM sinters increases with the increase of the temperature. The perovskite decreases, whereas the silicate phase increases with basicity higher than 3.2. This study provides theoretical and technical foundations for the effective production of HCVTM sinters.