Bulk Density Measurement of Refractory Raw Materials—Faster and Better with A Spin Dryer

doi:10.19691/j.cnki.1004-4493.2025.04.003

China's Refractories ›› 2025, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (4): 10-14.DOI: 10.19691/j.cnki.1004-4493.2025.04.003

Bulk Density Measurement of Refractory Raw Materials—Faster and Better with A Spin Dryer

Andreas BUHR¹, Geert WAMS², Aniruddha SADHUKHAN³, ZHOU Yunpeng⁴, Morgan ZHANG⁴, Shogo KIJIMA⁵, Shankha CHATTERJEE^{6, *}, Gerhard URBANEK⁷

1 Almatis GmbH, Frankfurt 60528, Germany;
2 Almatis BV, Rotterdam 3197 KM, The Netherlands;
3 Almatis Alumina Private Ltd., Falta 743504, India;
4 Qingdao Almatis Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266500, China;
5 Almatis Ltd., Iwakuni 7400045, Japan;
6 Almatis Alumina Private Ltd., Kolkata 700071, India;
7 RHI Magnesita, Leoben 8700, Austria

Online:2025-12-15 Published:2026-01-04
Contact: *e-mail: shankha.chatterjee@almatis.com
About author:Andreas Buhr studied mineralogy in Bonn and Aachen in Germany. He worked for eight years at the ThyssenKrupp Steelworks in Dortmund, Germany as the head of the refractory department before relocating to Alcoa, now Almatis 28 years ago. Andreas is Global Technical Director. He is the chairman of refractory seminars from the German Steel Institute, UNITECR distinguished life member and was the president of UNITECR 2023 in Frankfurt, Germany. He got the American Ceramic Society Theodore J. Planje St. Louis Refractories Award in 2017.

Abstract

Abstract: In order to determine the bulk density of refractory raw materials, the so-called water method following the Archimedes principle is normally used. This is where the effect of water displacement on the mass of the sample is used to determine the bulk volume of the sample grains. During this test procedure, the surface of water infiltrated sample grains must be dried with a wet towel. Experience shows, that this drying step is the main root cause for variation in reproducibility of results and even repeatability of tests. A new spin dryer (centrifuge) was developed and introduced to automate this surface drying step, and is now included as a new method in ISO 8840:2021. The paper discusses the improvement of measurement with the new approach and industrial experiences from two big industrial players in the raw material business.

Key words: bulk density, centrifuge, drying, infiltration

Andreas BUHR, Geert WAMS, Aniruddha SADHUKHAN, ZHOU Yunpeng, Morgan ZHANG, Shogo KIJIMA, Shankha CHATTERJEE, Gerhard URBANEK. Bulk Density Measurement of Refractory Raw Materials—Faster and Better with A Spin Dryer[J]. China's Refractories, 2025, 34(4): 10-14.

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Bulk Density Measurement of Refractory Raw Materials—Faster and Better with A Spin Dryer

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