Research and Application of Calcium Hexaaluminate Castables for RH Refining Furnaces

doi:10.19691/j.cnki.1004-4493.2026.03.001

China's Refractories ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (3): 1-5.DOI: 10.19691/j.cnki.1004-4493.2026.03.001

Research and Application of Calcium Hexaaluminate Castables for RH Refining Furnaces

SHU Youliang, GAN Feifang^*

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., Shanghai 201900, China

Received:2025-12-15 Published:2026-09-29
Contact: *e-mail: feifanggan@alu.fudan.edu.cn
About author:Shu Youliang, a senior engineer at Baoshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., specializes in the research and technical management of refractory materials for steelmaking. He has made numerous creative optimizations and improvements to refractory materials in areas such as supporting the development of specialty steel grades and improving the quality of continuous casting billets. In recognition of his work, he has received a third-class award from the Metallurgical Science and Technology Award Program of the China Iron and Steel Association. He also holds five authorized patents and has authored over ten papers in prestigious domestic and international journals.

Abstract

Abstract: To solve the problems of short service life and poor adaptability of RH snorkels under the refining conditions of complex steel grades, a series of calcium hexaaluminate-based castables were prepared using calcium hexaaluminate particles as the aggregates, calcium hexaaluminate fine powder, corundum fine powder, spinel fine powder and reactive α-Al₂O₃ micropowder as the matrix, and pure calcium aluminate cement as the binder. The results show that calcium hexaaluminate (CA₆) aggregates can not only bond with Al₂O₃ but also with MgO-Al₂O₃ (MA) spinel materials. Three kinds of calcium hexaaluminate-based castables developed in this work all exhibit enhanced cold and hot strength with the rising temperature. It is found that the CA₆ castable with MA spinel matrix has the best corrosion resistance to RH refining slag, desulfurization slag and desulfurizer, together with excellent thermal shock resistance. This material is widely adaptable to RH refining conditions. The service life of the developed calcium hexaaluminate-based castable applied to the RH desulfurization snorkels exceeds the average life of the current corundum-spinel materials, indicating that the new material can meet the severe requirements of refining working conditions. It provides a new material option for RH snorkels used in the treatment of complex steel grades.

Key words: calcium hexaaluminate castable, RH snorkel, slag corrosion resistance, thermal shock resistance

SHU Youliang, GAN Feifang. Research and Application of Calcium Hexaaluminate Castables for RH Refining Furnaces[J]. China's Refractories, 2026, 35(3): 1-5.

[1]	LUO Zhiyong, LIU Kaiqi, QING Hailong, XIE Jinli. Improving Thermal Shock Resistance of Porous SiC Membrane Supports for Hot-gas Cleaning via Mullite Bonding [J]. China's Refractories, 2026, 35(2): 5-12.
[2]	CHEN Wendan, DU Juan, LI Wenfeng, GUO Huishi, SHEN Tianzi, SHI Kai, CAO Jun. Effect of Zirconia Corundum Addition on Structure and Properties of Al₂O₃-SiC-C Materials [J]. China's Refractories, 2026, 35(2): 23-27.
[3]	WEI Yan, LI Hongwei, SI Yanzhan, DING Ye, YU Shunlin, GUO Wenhui, YANG Guangyu, WANG Yachen. Preparation and Application of Environmentally Friendly Long-life Refractories for Rotary Hearth Furnaces in Solid Waste Treatment [J]. China's Refractories, 2026, 35(2): 28-34.
[4]	Valeriy V. MARTYNENKO, Iryna G. SHULYK, Yuliya Ye. MISHNYOVA. Research on Effects of Type and Amount of Fillers, Zirconium- and Silica-containing Components on Properties of Alumina-zirconia-silicate Crucibles [J]. China's Refractories, 2025, 34(4): 1-5.
[5]	YUE Jingjing, ZHAO Xin, YOU Jiegang, ZHANG Ling, ZHANG Xiaofang, FENG Dong, LUO Shitong, DUAN Mingjun, ZHANG Yi. Effects of Silicon Powder and Graphite Additions on Properties of Magnesia Composites Prepared from Magnesite Tailings [J]. China's Refractories, 2025, 34(4): 36-41.
[6]	WANG Jingran, TAN Dan, CHEN Xinming, ZHANG Jinhua, LIU Xuexin, LI Wen. Slag Corrosion Resistance of Corundum Spinel Castable Matrix with Different Corundum-spinel Micropowders [J]. China's Refractories, 2025, 34(2): 17-22.
[7]	GE Yulong, YU Weijian, GUI Kangrui, ZENG Shu. Countermeasures to Improve Thermal Shock Resistance of Refractories for Chemical Furnace Linings [J]. China's Refractories, 2025, 34(2): 45-48.
[8]	XUE Junzhu, MIAO Zheng, LIU Guangping, WEI Guoping, CHENG Yaping, YAN Wen, WEI Yaowu, LI Nan, CHEN Junfeng. Influence of Ladle Slag Addition on Properties of Al₂O₃-MgO Refractory Castables [J]. China's Refractories, 2025, 34(1): 34-42.
[9]	LIANG Xinxing, YE Hang, GAO Yuying, ZHAN Lei, MA Chengliang, LIU Xiaogang, FAN Chongfang, XU Enxia, DING Qiang, LI Yongsheng. Properties of New Zirconia-based Composites for Glass Kilns [J]. China's Refractories, 2024, 33(4): 29-33.
[10]	Yunpeng ZHOU, Wang FENG, Shankha CHATTERJEE, Andus BUHR, Sebastian KLAUS. Study on Chrome-free Purging Plugs for Steel Ladles [J]. China's Refractories, 2024, 33(2): 41-47.
[11]	TIAN Chen, ZHI Jianjun, GAN Feifang, FAN Zhengjie, GAO Hua, YUAN Lei, LIU Guoqi, YU Jingkun, LI Hongxia. Analysis of Corrosion Behavior of ZrO₂-C Slag-line Materials in Continuous Casting [J]. China's Refractories, 2023, 32(3): 10-13.
[12]	GUO Peng, CHEN Lu, YU Tongshu, ZHANG Hui, WANG Dongdong. Effect of Zirconia Corundum Addition on Properties of Chrome Corundum Castables [J]. China's Refractories, 2023, 32(2): 41-44.
[13]	WANG Jingran, CHEN Xinming, KE Changming, ZHANG Jinhua, LIU Xuexin, LI Wen. Rheological and Sintering Properties of Two Kinds of Corundum-spinel Micropowders [J]. China's Refractories, 2022, 31(4): 7-11.
[14]	LI Yanjing, SUN Jialin, LI Yong, KANG Jian, MA Shulong, MA Fei, ZHANG Jili. Influence of Flotation Magnesia Particles and Al₂O₃ Fines on Properties of Periclase-spinel Bricks [J]. China's Refractories, 2022, 31(4): 12-15.
[15]	LIU Zhenglong, DENG Chengji, YU Chao, DING Jun, ZHU Hongxi. Effect of C@SiC Composite Powder Addition on Properties of Al₂O₃-SiC-C Castables for Iron Trough [J]. China's Refractories, 2022, 31(4): 39-44.

China's Refractories

Research and Application of Calcium Hexaaluminate Castables for RH Refining Furnaces

PDF

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments