B4C mineralizing role for mullite generation in Al2O3-SiO2 refractory castables

Based on refractory end-users’ requirements, continuous efforts have been made to design engineered products able to withstand high temperatures (800–1500 °C) and severe thermal gradients. One alternative to enhance the mechanical properties of alumina-based compositions consists of inducing in situ generation of phases with platelet or acicular shape within their matrix fraction, which may improve crack deflection and grain bridging mechanisms. Mullite and Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ are some compounds that present such interesting features. Thus, this work addresses the evaluation of alumina refractory castables bonded with SioxX-Zero and/or microsilica, containing 0 or 1 wt% of B₄C (sintering additive), aiming to: (i) induce transient liquid sintering, (ii) point out which silica source could favor a more effective mullite formation at high temperatures, and (iii) analyze the influence of B₄C in the phase transformation and thermo-mechanical properties of the designed compositions. Comparing SioxX-Zero and microsilica-bonded refractories, the latter showed more likelihood to give rise to the mullite phase during the samples’ thermal treatments. Moreover, adding B₄C to the castables containing 3 wt% of SiO₂ induced the generation of a boron-rich liquid phase with transient features during the samples’ firing step, favoring earlier sintering and faster mullite and Al₁₈B₄O₃₃ formation. These transformations resulted in refractories with enhanced creep, thermal shock resistance and HMOR behavior in a broader temperature range (600–1550 °C), which may enable them to be used in various industrial applications (petrochemical, steel-making, etc.).