The Examination of Glass Tank-Block Refractories by X-Ray Methods

JSGT 1940 V24 T109-T123

 An account is given of the technique of the X-ray powder method of analysis in its application to the study of glass tank-block refractories. The attributes of materials revealed by the method, relevant to the examination of refractories, are discussed, including the identification of the different phases present, the distinction between the crystal forms of silica, and the measurement of the crystal size and purity of the mullite component. One of the objects of the X-ray analysis is to find out if the burning treatment of tank-blocks has been sufficient to produce the structure required for present-day glass-melting tanks. It is shown that the state of crystallisation of the mullite is a more reliable guide to the efficacy of burning than the absence of the low-temperature form of the free silica. The results of examinations of a large number of commercial blocks, both clay and sillimanite, from various sources are described. Their structures are compared with those of specimens which have been refired in the laboratory at 1430-1450°. The use of fluxes and the presence of "black cores" in tank blocks are referred to.

H. P. Rooksby, B.Sc., F.Inst.P., and J. H. Partridge, B.Sc., Ph.D., F.S.G.T.