Ferrosilicon

Ferrosilicon is an alloy of iron and silicon with a typical silicon content by weight of 15–90%. It contains a high proportion of iron silicides. Ferrosilicon is produced by reduction of silica or sand with coke in the presence of iron. Typical sources of iron are scrap iron or millscale. Ferrosilicons with silicon content up to about 15% are made in blast furnaces lined with acid fire bricks. Ferrosilicons with higher silicon content are made in electric arc furnaces. The usual formulations on the market are ferrosilicons with 15%, 45%, 75%, and 90% silicon. The remainder is iron, with about 2% consisting of other elements like aluminium and calcium. An overabundance of silica is used to prevent formation of silicon carbide. Microsilica is a useful byproduct. A mineral perryite is similar to ferrosilicon, with its composition Fe5Si2. In contact with water, ferrosilicon may slowly produce hydrogen. The reaction, which is accelerated in the presence of base, is used for hydrogen production. The melting point and density of ferrosilicon depends on its silicon content, with two nearly-eutectic areas, one near Fe2Si and second spanning FeSi2-FeSi3 composition range. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+ Physical properties of ferrosilicon |- ! Si mass fraction (%) | 0 || 20 || 35 || 50 || 60 || 80 || 100 |- ! Solidus point (°C) | 1538 || 1200 || 1203 || 1212 || 1207 || 1207 || 1414 |- ! Liquidus point (°C) | 1538 || 1212 || 1410 || 1220 || 1230 || 1360 || 1414 |- ! Density (g/cm3) | 7.87 || 6.76 || 5.65 || 5.1 || 4.27 || 3.44 || 2.33 |} Ferrosilicon is used as a source of silicon to reduce metals from their oxides and to deoxidize steel and other ferrous alloys. This prevents the loss of carbon from the molten steel (so called blocking the heat); ferromanganese, spiegeleisen, calcium silicides, and many other materials are used for the same purpose. It can be used to make other ferroalloys. Ferrosilicon is also used for manufacture of silicon, corrosion-resistant and high-temperature-resistant ferrous silicon alloys, and silicon steel for electromotors and transformer cores.

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Oxide inclusions are inevitably present in steel as a direct consequence of the steelmaking process; as a result, a cubic centimetre of modern steel will generally contain about a million of these hard and brittle micrometre-sized ceramic particles. Inclus ...

EPFL2023

The effect of paste composition, aggregate mineralogy and temperature on the pore solution composition and the extent of ASR expansion

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The reaction kinetics of the alkali silica reaction depends on the composition of the pore solution. The evolution of the pore solution composition in different cement pastes and concretes was studied. Pastes containing silica fume or metakaolin had the lo ...

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Microstructure Selection in Laser Remelted Fe-C-Si Alloys

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Laser surface remelting at various velocities has been employed to study the selection of microstructures of high-purity Fe-C-Si alloys containing nominally 3.2 to 4.2 wt.% C and 1 to 3 wt.% Si. The microstructure of the remelted region consisted of metast ...

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Sand

Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type; i.e., a soil containing more than 85 percent sand-sized particles by mass. The composition of sand varies, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz.

Silicon tetrachloride

Silicon tetrachloride or tetrachlorosilane is the inorganic compound with the formula SiCl4. It is a colorless volatile liquid that fumes in air. It is used to produce high purity silicon and silica for commercial applications. It is a part of the chlorosilane family. Silicon tetrachloride is prepared by the chlorination of various silicon compounds such as ferrosilicon, silicon carbide, or mixtures of silicon dioxide and carbon. The ferrosilicon route is most common.

Silicon dioxide

Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and most abundant families of materials, existing as a compound of several minerals and as a synthetic product. Notable examples include fused quartz, fumed silica, silica gel, opal and aerogels. It is used in structural materials, microelectronics (as an electrical insulator), and as components in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

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