R&D and SS Department

Scientific Services Report

Report Type Scientific Services

Category Testing /Characterization/Failure analysis/Customer Complaint

Title Swelling Index (SI) measurement of Pellets
SI test date 17th Mar 2022
17th Mar, 2022

Brief process description:

The sampling of the pellets for the swelling index is dons as per the ISO 4698:2007.
The swelling index test is carried out as per the standard operating procedure (SOP).
The initial volume of pellets is measured at room temperature using a volumetric
apparatus. The pellet sample is isothermally reduced under unconstrained condition
in a fixed bed at 900 °C, using the reducing gas CO (30%) and N2 (70%) for 60 min.
The volume of the reduced pellets is measured at room temperature.
The swelling index is calculated as the difference between the volume of the pellets
after and before reduction, expressed as a percentage

Test results: The swelling index test values are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Swelling index of fired pellets

Sl. No. Sample ID Swelling Index, %

1 PP3_14th Mar 2022 15.79

Table 2 shows the chemical analysis of the fired pellets used for swelling index test.
Table 2: Chemical analysis of fired pellets, wt.%

Sl. No. Sample ID Fe(T) SiO2 Al2O3 CaO MgO MnO TiO2 P S FeO
1 PP3_14th Mar 2022 59.58 6.64 3.80 2.03 0.61 1.05 0.21 0.05 0.01 0.71

Table 3 shows the average physical properties of the fired pellets.

Table 3: Physical properties of the fired pellets
Sl. Average CCS, Average TI Average AI Average
Sample ID
No Kg/pellet (+6.3mm), % (-0.5mm), % B2
1 PP3_14th Mar 2022 251 92.27 5.91 0.31

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R&D and SS Department
Scientific Services Report

Remark: The swelling index value for the pellets should be less than 20%. It is
reported in literature that the good quality pellets should have swelling index (SI) in
the range of 14-17%.