TANG Zijuan 1, LIANG Jian 2, JIANG Weihui1, 2, FENG Guo 2, JIANG Feng 1, HU Qing 1, QI Fang 1, HONG Xiang 1
(1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Jingdezhen 333403, Jiangxi, China; 2. National Engineering Research Center for Domestic and Building Ceramics, Jingdezhen 333001, Jiangxi, China)
Abstract: Foam ceramics were prepared with shale, steel slag and magnesite as raw material, silicon carbide as foam agent and borax as flux agent. The effect of borax on pore structure, porosity, bending strength and bulk density of the foam ceramics was systematically studied. Phase composition and microstructure of the samples were characterized by XRD and SEM. When the content of borax was over 2%, the boron abnormality occurred. The foam ceramics with 6% borax exhibited optimized properties, with average pore size of 349.48 μm, closed porosity of 59.03%, total porosity of 60.15%, bending strength of 10.86 MPa and bulk density of 1.01 g/cm3. The foam ceramics consisted of quartz, cristobalite and diopside. The introduction of borax promoted the crystal growth of the foam ceramics.
Key words: foam ceramics; borax; boron abnormality; properties; structure