Structural analysis of the void in iron ore sinter cake

Physical properties such as strength and permeability are related to structure. In this investigation, the three-dimensional structure of voids was quantified using an image analyzer. The physical properties were then compared with the measured structural parameters. A possible way to evaluate sinter strength utilizes the measured values of void fraction and the size distribution and shape factor of the voids. When a sinter cake is considered to be a packed bed, the apparent diameters of the particles used for estimating heat exchange rates between gas and solid and pressure drop across the bed are different for the two purposes. A theoretical analysis of the magnitudes of forces acting on granules was made to identify the causes of the rearrangement of a bed during sintering.