China's Refractories

Abstract: Water addition has direct impact on castable placement; however it is more or less strictly controlled by installers. In this work, again, two basic rheological properties: flow resistance and torque viscosity have been measured against time, with different water addition in the same standard mix. The flow resistance indicates the mobility whereas the torque viscosity dictates the stability of a castable during installation. It has been observed that with 6.0 wt% water addition, such a mix possesses good vibration castable characteristics; with 6.5 wt%, it shows good self-flow castable characteristics; and with 7.0 wt%, it can be a good pumpable castable, in every case with comparable mechanical properties. While with 7.5 wt% water addition, the properties of such castable are definitively impaired.

Key words: Rheology, Flow resistance, Torque viscosity, Water additon, Low cement castable