Formation mechanism and crystal simulation ofNa2O-doped calcium aluminate compounds
(School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China)
Abstract: Calcium aluminate clinkers doped with Na2O were synthesized using analytically pure reagents CaCO3, Al2O3, SiO2 and Na2CO3. The effects of Na2O-doping on the formation mechanism of calcium aluminate compounds and the crystal property of 12CaO·7Al2O3 (C12A7) cell were studied. The results show that the minerals containing Na2O mainly include 2Na2O·3CaO·5Al2O3 and Na2O·Al2O3, when the Na2O content in clinkers is less than 4.26% (mass fraction). The rest of Na2O is mainly doped in 12CaO·7Al2O3, which results in the decrease of the crystallinity of 12CaO·7Al2O3. The crystallinity of 2Na2O·3CaO·5Al2O3 is also inversely proportional to the Na2O content in clinkers. The formation processes of 2Na2O·3CaO·5Al2O3 and 12CaO·7Al2O3 can be divided into two ways, which are the direct reactions of raw materials and the transformation of CaO·Al2O3, respectively. The simulation shows that the covalency of O—Na bond in Na2O-doped 12CaO·7Al2O3 cell is weaker than those of O—Ca and O—Al bonds. The free energy of the unit cell increases because of Na2O doping, which results in the improvement of chemical activity of 12CaO·7Al2O3. The leaching efficiency of Al2O3 in clinker is improved from 34.81% to 88.17% when the Na2O content in clinkers increases from 0 to 4.26%.
Key words: calcium aluminate; Na2O-doping; formation mechanism; crystal structure; sintering; computer simulation