Good reporting practice for thermophysical and thermochemical property measurements (IUPAC Technical Report)

Scientific projects frequently involve measurements of thermophysical, thermochemical, and other related properties of chemical compounds and materials. These measured property data have significant potential value for the scientific community, but incomplete and inaccurate reporting often hampers their utilization. The present IUPAC Technical Report summarizes the needs of chemical engineers and researchers as consumers of these data and shows how publishing practices can improve information transfer. In the Report, general principles of Good Reporting Practice are developed together with examples illustrating typical cases of reporting issues. Adoption of these principles will improve the quality, reproducibility, and usefulness of experimental data, bring a better level of consistency to results, and increase the efficiency and impact of research. Closely related to Good Reporting Practice, basic elements of Good Research Practice are also introduced with a goal to reduce the number of ambiguities and unresolved problems within the thermophysical property data domain.

An Evaluation of Thermochemical Property Models for CaO-MnO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO Slag

The modeling of thermochemical properties is important in studying the physical behavior of slag in the operation of pyrometallurgical smelters. To study the flow of slag through a submerged-arc furnace (SAF) tap-hole, knowledge of thermochemical properties such as viscosity, thermal conductivity, density and heat capacity are required. In literature various models exist for silicate slags that enable thermochemical properties to be predicted as functions of chemical composition and temperature. This paper reports on the application of models in the CaO-MnO-SiO2-Al2O3-MgO slag system to be used in future CFD modeling of slag tapped from SAFs producing high-carbon ferromanganese (HCFeMn) or silicomanganese (SiMn). FactSage 6.2 is used to estimate the phase composition of slags with varying chemical composition and temperature. The dependence of thermochemical property models on chemical composition and temperature is illustrated in the form of ternary diagrams showing the predicted property values as a function of basicity (chemical composition) and temperature. Slag compositions typical of HCFeMn and SiMn processes are used. Each thermochemical property is calculated at 1400, 1500 and 1600 °C at a fixed weight percentage ratio Al2O3/SiO2 of 0.57 and 6% MgO. Ternary phase diagrams (1400, 1500 and 1600 °C) and a ternary liquidus temperature diagram are also presented for the system. Since viscosity has the most significant influence on flow behavior, results from various viscosity models have been compared with measured data. Predictions for thermal conductivity, density, and heat capacity are also discussed.