In situ synchrotron X-ray and in situ neutron diffraction-based experimentation have been implemented to characterise the formation of the complex calcium ferrite iron ore sinter bonding phases silico-ferrite of calcium and aluminium (SFCA) and SFCA-I. Experiments were carried out using fine-grained (<20 m) sinter mixtures containing ~77 wt per cent fe2o3, 14 wt per cent cao, 3.5 wt per cent sio2 and 5 wt per cent al2o3, with diffraction data collected during heating until 1300 - 1350c, which was enough to ensure complete melting of the sfca phases. in the case of the in situ synchrotron experimentation, results showed that altering the nature of the starting sinter mixture (ie substitution of goethite for hematite; substitution of an amorphous al2o3-based mineral for gibbsite) did not have a significant effect on the thermal stability range of the sfca phases. it did, however, have a profound effect on the formation and rate of consumption of the calcium-rich ferrite phases c2f and cf, and on the formation mechanisms of sfca and sfca-i._x000d_>
The in situ neutron diffraction experimentation is the first described in the context of iron ore sintering, and the observation of both SFCA-I and SFCA formation in the in situ diffraction data represents the first step in achieving the goal of charactering iron ore sinter phase formation in large volumes of industrial sinter starting materials with a wide range of particle sizes (up to 6.3 mm).CITATION:Webster, N A S, Pownceby, M I, Madsen, I C, Studer, A J, Lu, L, Manuel, J R, Kimpton, J A and Fisher-White, M J, 2013. In situ x-ray and neutron diffraction studies of silico-ferrite of calcium and aluminium iron ore sinter phase formation, in Proceedings Iron Ore 2013 , pp 487-494 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).