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Estimation of viscosity for blast furnace type slags

A. Shankar, M. Görnerup, A. K. Lahiri & S. Seetharaman

To cite this article: A. Shankar, M. Görnerup, A. K. Lahiri & S. Seetharaman (2007) Estimation
of viscosity for blast furnace type slags, Ironmaking & Steelmaking, 34:6, 477-481, DOI:
10.1179/174328107X17467

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1179/174328107X17467

Published online: 18 Jul 2013.

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Estimation of viscosity for blast furnace type
slags
A. Shankar*1, M. Görnerup2, A. K. Lahiri3 and S. Seetharaman2
A viscosity model based on a new definition of basicity has been proposed for blast furnace type
slags. Conceptually, this definition of basicity is close to Bell’s definition of basicity as used for
modelling of sulphide capacity of blast furnace type slags. The model developed in the present
work is applicable for wide range of alumina, magnesia and titania containing blast furnace slags,
while most of the models available in the literature are mainly applicable for a limited range of slag
composition. Viscosity estimation by this model is close to the experimental value for all types of
blast furnace slags. This model is based on the chemical composition of slag and is applicable for
slags above liquidus temperature.
Keywords: Viscosity, Basicity, Optical basicity, Activation energy

List of symbols function of molar volume, melting point and chemical

g viscosity of slag
go viscosity of non network forming melts
A constant
E activation energy of the melt
Bi modified basicity index
Introduction
There are numerous mathematical models available in
the literature1–4 for estimation of viscosity of molten
oxide systems. These models can be used for estimation
of viscosity of molten slags, glasses and mould fluxes.
All these models involve a numerical fit of viscosity to
chemical composition but vary across a large range from
pure numerical fits to semi-analytical models taking
structure of the slag into account. The former can be
applied to limited slag composition and the latter require
considerable effort to incorporate additional compo-
nents. Also, estimated viscosities diverge frequently
from measured values by greater than ¡30%, which is
partly reflection of large range of slag viscosities.3
Among the available models, Iida’s model is primarily
applicable for blast furnace type slags, whereas the
remainder like Mill’s model3 and Ray’s model,4 were
mainly developed for mould fluxes and glassy systems,
but also applied for certain types of blast furnace slags.
Iida et al.1 developed the following viscosity model for
blast furnace type slags


E associated with the above models is very high compared
g~AgO exp  (1)
Bi
where E and A are function of temperature, go is a
1
R&D, TATA STEEL, Jamshedpur 831 003, India
2
Department of Material Science and Engineering, Royal Institute of
Technology, Stockholm 100 44, Sweden
3
Department of Metallurgy, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012,
India
*Corresponding author, email amitabh07@yahoo.co.in
composition and Bi* is function of chemical composition.
Mills and Sridhar3 proposed following viscosity
model based on the Arhenius equation
B
ln g~ ln Az (2)
T
where A is a quadratic expression of optical basicity and
B is inversely related to optical basicity.
The prediction by the above model is very good for
the FeO–MgO–SiO2 system.
Ray and Pal4 developed a simple, novel method which
allows the estimation of viscosity on the basis of melt
composition and optical basicity. They used the
Weymann–Frenkel equation for viscosity calculation
and this was expressed as follows
g 1000B
ln ~ ln Az (3)
T T
where A and B are linearly related which was similar to
Urbain’s equation and B was quadratic expression of
optical basicity.
This model predicts viscosity very close to experi-
mental values in cases of standard glass, low barium
crown and borosilicate crown; but less accurately in the
case of mould fluxes and blast furnace slags, especially
for low alumina slags.
A comparison of the above models has been made in
the context of blast furnace type slags and is shown in
Table 1. From this table it is clear that the error
to the experimental error. In the present work, a new
model has been developed which enables the estimation
of viscosities for blast furnace slags over the entire
composition and temperature ranges.
Choice of models
The activation energy of a melt is a very important
parameter for viscosity estimation and its dependence on

ß 2007 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

Published by Maney on behalf of the Institute
Received 9 October 2006; accepted 4 January 2007
DOI 10.1179/174328107X17467 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2007 VOL 34 NO 6 477
Shankar et al. Estimation of viscosity for blast furnace type slags

basicity, a number of slags with different viscosities have

almost same value of optical basicity. In the present
work it was necessary to redefine basicity. This, termed
as new basicity ratio, is defined as follows
P
(XB nB LB z:::::)
P
(XB nB z::)
LNEW ~ P :::::: (5)
P(XA nA LA z::::: )
(XA nA z )

In the above definition, basicity has been defined as the

1 Effect of temperature on activation energy of melt:
R5correlation coefficient
temperature will decide whether to use the Arhenius or
Weymann equations. Therefore, ln g versus 1/T and
ln (g/T) versus 1/T has been plotted for a typical high
alumina blast furnace slags and is shown in Fig. 1. From
this figure, it is clear both ln g and ln (g/T) have a linear
relationship with 1/T. Therefore, it can be said that
either of the Arhenius or Weymann equations can be
used for developing the viscosity model.
New model for viscosity prediction
The concept of optical basicity was developed by Duffy
and Ingram5 and it was defined as follows
P P
(XA nA LA z:::::) (XB nB LB z:::::::)
L~ P z P (4)
(XA nA z::::) (XB nB z::::)
where LA and LB are the optical basicities of acidic and
basic oxides respectively, XA and XB are the molar
fractions of acidic and basic oxides respectively, and nA
and nB are number of oxygen atoms associated with
acidic and basic oxides respectively.
Generally, optical basicity falls in the range of 0.5 to
0.75 in case of glassy systems, and between 0.7 and 0.75
in the case of blast furnace slags. However, as viscosity
of these slags varies in a wider range compared to optical
ratio of optical basicities of basic to acidic oxides. A
similar definition was also used by Bell6 for sulphide
capacity prediction where he defined basicity as the ratio
of total basic oxides to acidic oxides and he has given
different weight factors to individual oxides which is
similar to the above definition of basicity. Like optical
basicity, the new basicity ratio gives the measure of the
‘availability’ of free oxygen ions in the slags, thus it may
give an indication of the degree of polymerisation in the
melts. By using the above definition according to
equation (5), the new basicity of blast furnace slags
was found to vary between 1.4 and 2.5. This definition of
basicity was used to predict the parameters A and B, of
the Arrhenius equation. As mole ratio Al2O3/RO
,1(RO: basic oxide), Al2O3 was treated as acidic oxide7
in the present work.
Viscosity data of blast furnace slags were collected
from different sources. These sources consist of mainly
slag atlas,8 Iida et al.,1 Saito et al.7 and experimental
data by the authors.12 These data cover slags with wide
range of viscosity (normal slag viscosity range for blast
furnace slag: 0.2 to 3 Pa s), alumina, titania and
fluorspar contents in the temperature range 1573–
1873 K. Some of these data correspond to temperatures
below the liquidus temperature, which is usually
y1673 K in most cases. The ranges of slag compositions
used in the formulation of the model are shown in
Table 2.
Based on the above data the following relationship
was established between ln A and B based on data of
high alumina slags
ln A~{0:3068B{6:7374 (6)
Based on above definition of basicity and according to
optical basicity definition, the following relationships

Table 1 Relative difference between measured and estimated viscosity as estimated by different models

Ray’s model Iida’s model

% deviation from experimental value % deviation from experimental value

Min. Max. Avg. Min. Max. Avg.

High alumina slags (.15% alumina) 0 52 22 0 100 62

Low alumina slags (,15% alumina) 0 90 25 2 72 25
High Titania slags (up to 20%) 88 247 168
High MgO slags (up to 20%) 5 66 32
High basicity slags (CaO/SiO2: 3–7) 67 77 72 Not applicable for this range of slag composition
Low basicity slags (CaO/SiO2 ,0.3) 160 293 211

Table 2 Ranges of slags used for formulation of models

CaO/SiO2 MgO Al2O3 TiO2 CaF2

High alumina blast furnace slags 0.8–1.2 0–10% 18–27% 0–2% 0–3.5%
Low alumina blast furnace slags 0.9–1.2 1–11.5% 10–15% 0–1.1% 0–0.34%

478 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2007 VOL 34 NO 6

 Shankar et al. Estimation of viscosity for blast furnace type slags

2 Relationship between ln A and B for blast furnace

slags
3 Empirical correlation between values of B and new
were developed between B and basicity basicity ratio for blast furnace slags

B~{9:897LNEW z31:347 (7)

B~{82:71Lz77:845 (8)
The relationship between ln A and B is shown in Fig. 2
and the relationship between B and new basicity ratio is
been shown in Fig. 3. Figures 2 and 3 show the pre-
valence of strong correlation between each parameter.
A comparison of the above models based on new
basicity ratio and optical basicity was made and is
shown in Table 3. From this table it is clear that model
based on the new basicity ratio is performing better than
the model based on optical basicity for all types of blast
furnace slags. Also, the deviation from experimental
value is greater in the case of the model based on optical
basicity. Also, the model based on conventional basicity
(CaO/SiO2) was tested for all types of blast furnace slag
and its performance was found inferior compared to the
models based on normal optical basicity or the new 4 Comparison between estimated viscosity and mea-
basicity ratio. Therefore, the model based on new sured viscosity of high alumina slags
basicity ratio was proposed for viscosity estimation of
all type of blast furnace slags and discussed in this paper. MgO, 2–5%; Al2O3, 19–28%; TiO2, 0–2%; CaF2, 0–3.5%
and a temperature range of 1673–1873 K. From this
Validation of model figure, it is clear that prediction by present model is in
agreement with experimental values for all three slag
High alumina slags systems considered, namely CaO–SiO2–MgO–Al2O3,
Figure 4 shows the comparison between measured and CaO–SiO2–MgO–Al2O3–TiO2, CaO–SiO2–MgO–Al2O3–
estimated viscosity by the present model for high CaF2 systems. While using the present model for
alumina slags with alumina .15%. The slags under viscosity prediction, the deviation from the experimental
consideration have compositions: CaO/SiO2, 0.76–1.25; value was 10% in the case of high alumina slags, which is

Table 3 Comparison of different models developed in present work

Present model based on new basicity ratio Present model based on optical basicity

% deviation from experimental value % deviation from experimental value

Min. Max. Avg. Min. Max. Avg.

High alumina slags (.15% alumina) 0 30 10 0 35 15

Low alumina slags (,15% alumina) 3 50 23 1 136 31
High titania slags (up to 20%) 7 52 25 67 380 200
High MgO slags (up to 20%) 2 15 7 47 90 69
High basicity slags (CaO/SiO2: 3–7) 23 61 44 56 80 70
Low basicity slags (CaO/SiO2 ,0.3) 0.6 6 4 27 99 57

Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2007 VOL 34 NO 6 479

Shankar et al. Estimation of viscosity for blast furnace type slags
5 Comparison between estimated viscosity and mea-
sured viscosity of high titania (20%TiO2) blast furnace
slags
better than other models as shown in Tables 1 and 3. It
is apparent that for high alumina blast furnace slags, the
model based on new basicity ratio is certainly better and
the relative difference between measured and estimated
viscosity is less than the experimental error associated
with most of the viscosity measurements.
High titania slags
Figure 5 shows the comparison between measured and
estimated viscosity of very high titania containing slags.
The slags under consideration have compositions: CaO/
SiO2, 1; Al2O3, 16–18%; TiO2, 10–20% and a tempera-
ture range of 1673–1873 K. The close agreement
between estimated and measured viscosity shows that
this model can be applied for high titania blast furnace
slags. A comparison of different models for such slags is
shown in Tables 1 and 3.
High MgO slags
Figure 6 shows the comparison between measured and
estimated viscosity of very high MgO containing slags.
The slags under consideration have: CaO/SiO2, 1; Al2O3,
16–17%; MgO, 15–20% and a temperature range of
1673–1873 K. The close agreement between estimated
6 Comparison between estimated viscosity and mea-
sured viscosity of high MgO (15–20%MgO) blast fur-
nace slags
480 Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2007 VOL 34 NO
7 Comparison between estimated viscosity and mea-
sured viscosity of very high and low basicity slags
and measured viscosity shows that this model can be
applied for high MgO blast furnace slags. A comparison
of different models for such slags are shown in Tables 1
and 3.
Slags with very high basicity and low basicity
Figure 7 shows the comparison between measured and
estimated viscosity of very high basicity (CaO/SiO2: 3–7)
and low basicity (CaO/SiO2: 0.3–0.7) slags. The slags
under consideration have: CaO/SiO2, 0.3–7; Al2O3, 24–
35%; MgO, 18–30% and a temperature range of 1673–
1943 K. This figure shows there is very close agreement
between estimated viscosity and measured viscosity for
low basicity slags. For very basic slags agreement is poor
but better than other available models, as shown in
Tables 1 and 3.
Low alumina slags
Figure 8 shows the comparison between experimental
viscosity and estimated value by the present model for
low alumina slags with alumina ,15%. It was observed
from this figure that estimated viscosity agrees well with
the experimental value up to viscosity of 0.5 Pa s, above
8 Comparison between estimated viscosity and mea-
sured viscosity of low alumina slags
6

9 Comparison of viscosity data between Machin’s10 and
Iida’s1 data
which, deviation from experimental value is quite high.
This was also observed by Ray and Pal4 for low alumina
slag. For such low alumina slags the average deviation
from experimental value was 23%, which is better than
other models. On analysing the data more critically, it
was found that deviation between experimental and
estimated viscosity is higher for slags at lower tempera-
ture. As data at low temperature are mostly from
reference,1 a comparison of viscosity data between the
results reported from reference1 and experimental results
of Machin and Hanna10 with similar chemistry was
carried out as part of the present work. The comparison
results are presented in Fig. 9. This figure shows that
differences between measured viscosity and estimated
viscosity are very low when Machin’s data were
considered.
The model developed in the present work is applicable
for slags above liquidus temperature. Below liquidus
temperature, solids precipitate and thereby, composition
of the remaining liquid changes. The composition of
remaining liquid was calculated using Thermocalc
Software. Viscosity of the slag was estimated by
considering gross chemistry and liquid chemistry of the
slag, and this is shown in Fig. 10. This figure shows that
deviation between experimental and estimated viscosity
was reduced when the chemistry of only liquid fraction
of slag was considered and the solid fraction was limited
to 25% of the melt. Therefore, it was proposed to
consider the chemistry only of the liquid portion of the
slag when estimating the viscosity below the liquidus
temperature.
Conclusions
1. A model based on the new basicity definition can
be applied for viscosity estimation of all types of blast
furnace slags, preferably above liquidus temperature.
2. The present model can be applied for high titania
(at least up to 20%) and high MgO (at least up to 20%)
blast furnace slags.
Shankar et al. Estimation of viscosity for blast furnace type slags
10 Comparison between experimental and estimated
viscosity for slags below liquidus temperature
3. The model is also applicable for very low basicity
slags (at least up to 0.3).
4. The model based on new basicity ratio definition is
relatively better than the model based on the optical
basicity definition.
5. Viscosity estimation below the liquidus tempera-
ture can be improved by considering the chemistry of the
liquid portion of the slag for small amounts of solid
fraction (up to fraction of 0.25) in the melt.
Acknowledgement
The authors are thankful to the management of TATA
STEEL, India, for allowing him to publish his findings
in this paper.
References
1. T. Iida, H. Sakai, Y. Kita and K. Shigeno: ISIJ Int., 2000, 40,
110s–114s.
2. G. Urbain: Steel Res., 1987, 58, 111–116.
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4. H. S. Ray and S. Pal: Ironmaking Steelmaking, 2004, 31, 125–130.
5. J. A. Duffy and M. D. Ingram: J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1971, 93, 6448–
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6. H. B. Bell: J. Sheffield Univ. Met. Soc., 1969, 8, 39–42.
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Ironmaking and Steelmaking 2007 VOL 34 NO 6 481