Tabular alumina, also known as tabular alumina (Tabular Alumina), is a kind of sintered alumina, which is rapidly sintered at a high temperature of 1925°C, slightly lower than the melting point of α-Al2O3 (2050°C), and the crystal grains reach the sintered complete recrystallization. α-Al2O3, presents a two-dimensional planar plate shape and has many intercrystalline and intracrystalline circular closed pores in the microstructure.

Tabular corundum was sintered in a shaft kiln invented by Thomas S. Curtis in 1934. After an intermediate test in 1935, it was commercialized and used as a lining material for refractory and ceramic kilns. It was only used in the refractory industry as a bulk refractory aggregate in the 1950s. During this period, Alcoa (now renamed Anmai Aluminum) developed a series of tabular corundum products using low Na2O industrial alumina as raw materials.

The development history of my country's tabular corundum

The development process of tabular corundum in China can be roughly divided into four stages: the initial contact stage, the understanding development stage, the trial production stage, and the development stage.

Initial contact stage

In the 1970s, the WISCO 07 project adopted high-alumina bricks produced from American-made tabular corundum, so that the domestic refractory industry only came into contact with tabular corundum. With the construction of Baosteel, some high-grade refractory products were introduced. Due to production needs, the production technology of the three major parts, such as skateboard and continuous casting, must import tabular corundum from Alcoa as its main raw material.

Understand the development stage

In 1992, Alcoa presented a batch of granular materials to the Luoyang Refractory Research Institute. After in-depth analysis by the institute, it has a more thorough understanding of tabular corundum. After that, Alcoa introduced the product to China and promoted its application. Due to the technical control of Alcoa, domestic companies have difficulty obtaining its production technology. In order to promote the development of national industry, the China Refractory Industry Association attaches great importance to the development of sintered corundum, and the "Eighth Five-Year" and "Ninth Five-Year" development plans are both regarded as important issues. Domestic scientific research institutes and production units have also carried out continuous exploration. From the 1990s, Professor Shen Jiyao's research group of Tianjin University and the technicians of the original Meihekou Grinding Wheel Factory conducted electro-fusion method experiments and passed the technical appraisal. However, due to technical limitations The expected purpose was not achieved, and the product performance and physical and chemical indicators did not meet the requirements for use, so no market supply was formed.