Viscosities of Slags ‐ an Overview

Viscosities of slags constitute an important physical property needed for an understanding of the mass transfer phenomena in metallurgical processes. Viscosity is also the key that leads to a better understanding of the structure of slags. It is well‐known that the viscosities of silicate slags decrease with the addition of basic oxides due to the breaking of the silicate network. The measurements of slag viscosities often pose experimental challenges, especially with respect to the choice of materials. This paper takes up the experimental problems and the various techniques adopted. Dynamic viscosity measurement, as a powerful tool towards an understanding of the kinetics of some high temperature reactions is brought out. A number of semi‐empirical models have been developed to estimate the slag viscosities in the case of multicomponent slags. A critical survey of these models is presented in this paper. Earlier models by Riboud et al., Urbain et al. and Mills et al. have been developed further into a new generation of models. Some of the current important models are, (1) Model by lida et al., (2) CSIRO model, (3) Pyroresearch Model, (4) Model by Tanaka et al., (5) Model approach by Reddy et al., and (6) KTH‐model. The predictions and capabilities of the various models are compared. Estimations of viscosities from thermodynamic data and prediction of liquidus temperatures from viscosities are presented. The concept of surface viscosities with reference to slags and viscosities of two‐phase mixtures are also taken up in the presentation.