The effects of in situ formation of Y3Al5O12 on property improvement of magnesium aluminate spinel refractories

Magnesium aluminate spinel is widely used in cement rotary kilns, in the iron and steel industries, as well as in glass melting furnaces due to its excellent performance and chemical stability at both room temperature and elevated temperatures. In spite of these advantages, there are some practical problems during production of magnesium aluminate spinel refractories due to their poor sinterability: poor mechanical properties and poor creep resistance. These issues can cause problems during service. This study improved the sinterability of spinel refractories and in turn improved mechanical properties while decreasing the creep rate. This was done by forming a second low creep rate phase of yttrium aluminum garnet in the matrix structure. The addition of Y₂O₃ and reactive Al₂O₃ accelerated the densification process and increased the cold strength. There was a significant increase in the hot modulus of rupture due to the formation of YAG or the solid solution with spinel.