Reactive wetting phenomena of MgO-C refractories in contact with CaO-SiO2 slag

Wetting phenomena between MgO-C and CaO-SiO2 slags were investigated by varying carbon content. A sessile drop technique was adopted to study the wetting phenomena in conjunction with a high speed camera for the observation of intrinsic wetting phenomena. The results show that the high content of SiO2 and the presence of Al2O3 in slags enhance the diffusion of Mg2+, leading to the promotion of reactive wetting. The carbon in MgO-C refractory impedes the penetration of slags by repelling the slag and slowing the diffusion of Mg2+. This accounts for the non-wetting behavior of the slag on MgO-C refractory with 17% (mass fraction) carbon similar to that of graphite.