Abstract
Permeation tests and structural analysis of voids were carried out on the sinter cakes prepared by varying the admixing ratio of coke in the raw mixture. The relationship between permeation characteristics and structural parameters were examined. Void networks in the cake were observed using a void replica made of silicon rubber.
Void fraction and specific surface area of the cake estimated by substituting the permeation test results into Ergun's equation did not agree with those measured by a water imbibition method and image analysis. The structure of the replica suggests that the permeability of a well-sintered cakes, in which large voids developed, is governed by the permeability of relatively thin gas flow paths connecting among large voids. The permeation test results were reasonably consistent with such structural features of the void networks in the cake. A permeation anisotropy of the cake, between the vertical and horizontal directions, was found and it seems to increase with an increase in the admixing ratio of coke in the raw mixture.
