DING Jun, DENG Chengji, ZHU Hongxi, SONG Yunfei
(The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, Hubei, China)

Abstract: Lightweight forsterite materials were prepared from mixtures of forsterite, Na₂CO₃ salt and recycled molten salt. The sintering behavior, pore-forming mechanism, and mechanical properties of the prepared materials were examined. The synthesized lightweight materials perform optimally with small bulk density, high apparent porosity and compressive strength, when the mass ratio of the components is 3:1:1 (forsterite : recycled salt : Na₂CO₃ salt) and the sintering temperature is 1100 ℃. The fracture surfaces of the sintered samples were tested by SEM, and the sample was a continuum with continuous combination of forsterite phase with uniform distribution of small and dense pores.

Key words: molten salt; forsterite; lightweight materials