Viscosity and Viscosity Estimate Model of Fluoride-Free and Titanium-Bearing Mold Fluxes

Abstract

The relationship between the binary basicity (CaO/SiO₂), TiO₂, Na₂O, Li₂O, MgO, MnO, B₂O₃ and viscosity for fluoride-free and titanium-bearing mold fluxes were systematically researched. The rotating cylinder method was employed in the experiment to measure the viscosity of the slag. The results indicate that Li₂O, B₂O₃ and Na₂O play major roles in decreasing viscosity, especially Li₂O, which is the most effective flux, while MgO and MnO exert little influence on viscosity. Meanwhile, it can be concluded that with increasing TiO₂ content, the viscosity of fluoride-free and titanium-bearing mold fluxes increases at first but then falls when the amount of TiO₂ is greater than 6.0%. Based on large amounts of experimental statistics of the viscosity of fluoride-free and titanium-bearing mold fluxes, an available model in literature for predicting the mold-slag viscosity was modified. This modified model can be used to predict the viscosity of fluoride-free and titanium-bearing mold fluxes. In fact, the predicted values approximate the observed values with a ±10.6% average deviation. Compared with the classical models, the average deviation is higher and it was found that the modified model can be used to estimate the viscosity of fluoride-free and titanium-bearing mold fluxes.