Abstract
We first present real-time microradiology of disintegration of self-fluxing iron ore sinters in low temperature reduction using highly collimated synchrotron source. The experiments were performed on the 5C1 beamline at PLS (Pohang Light Source, Pohang, Korea), operating at 2.5 GeV. We used unmonochromatized ("white") light with no optical elements except beryllium windows. The images of the crack superimpose, on the two-dimensional projection of a three-dimensional phenomenon, suggest that cracks are always initiated from pores in the sinters and propagate along neighboring pores. Interestingly, cracking occurs mostly on macropores (>800 μm), preferentially initiated from stress concentrated sites on pore surfaces. This dynamic study of the disintegration of sinters clearly shows that the crack initiation temperature is as low as 450 °C. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.