Calcium aluminate cement (CAC) bonded alumina-magnesia refractory castables present great advantages for steel ladle applications as a result of in-situ expansive formation of spinel and CA<6, which leads to high basic slag and thermal shock resistance. The CAC content in those castables strongly influences its expansive behavior mainly due to CA6 formation. In the present work, the effects of the CAC content in magnesia-alumina castables were analyzed. The results showed that calcium aluminate cement affects the volumetric stability of MgO-spinel system: the lower the CAC content, the lower the shrinkage. These effects on the sintering and in the mechanical properties after sintering at high temperatures are also presented and discussed.
magnesia castable; spinel; calcium aluminate cement
