Different industries have different requirements for ferrosilicon particle size, which is mainly based on the process characteristics and product needs of each industry.
1.Steelmaking industry: 10-50mm coarse ferrosilicon particles are usually used. During the steelmaking process, ferrosilicon needs to be deoxidized. Larger ferrosilicon particles can ensure that it dissolves slowly in the molten steel, achieving deep deoxidation and improving the quality of the steel.
2.Ordinary foundry industry: medium-sized ferrosilicon with a particle size of 8-15mm is generally used. This particle size range can better balance the dispersibility and dissolution rate of ferrosilicon in molten iron, so that ferrosilicon can be evenly distributed in the molten iron, playing a good role in inoculation and deoxidation, while not dissolving too quickly to affect the stability of the casting process.
3.Precision casting industry: 1-3mm fine powdered ferrosilicon is often used. Precision castings have high requirements for product composition uniformity and structural density. Fine powdered ferrosilicon can be quickly dissolved and evenly distributed in molten iron, which helps to improve the density of thin-walled structures and can increase the density by about 30%.
4.Other special casting scenarios: For some thin-walled castings (thickness less than 10mm), 0.2-3mm ferrosilicon fine powder may be used to better integrate into the molten iron and ensure the quality of the casting; for thick-walled parts (thickness greater than 30mm), 3-8mm ferrosilicon particles are often used so that they can gradually dissolve in the molten iron and play a role in inoculation.
5.Chemical industry: Some chemical fields may use ferrosilicon powder, which has fine particle size requirements, usually expressed in mesh number or particle size range. Fine powder below 200 mesh may be used. Fine-grained ferrosilicon powder has a large specific surface area and high reaction activity, which is conducive to fully participating in the chemical reaction.
6.Powder metallurgy industry: Generally, finer ferrosilicon powder is required, and the particle size may reach the micron level. For example, the particle size of some ferrosilicon used to prepare high-performance powder metallurgy materials may be between a few microns and tens of microns to ensure the fluidity and pressing performance of the powder, which in turn affects the density and performance of the final product.
10-50/60/70mm ferrosilicon is recommended for various scenarios
Steelmaking industry: It is recommended to use ferrosilicon with the grade of FeSi75. Ferrosilicon is required for deoxidation and alloying during steelmaking. FeSi75 ferrosilicon can better meet the needs. The particle size of 10-50mm can make it slowly dissolve in the molten steel, achieve deep deoxidation, and help improve the quality of steel.
Foundry industry: For some large castings, such as turbine seat rings weighing tens of tons, 10-50mm ferrosilicon can be selected. Ferrosilicon of this particle size has a slow-release effect, which can continuously release active elements during long-term casting and reduce the rate of inoculation decay. At the same time, the porous layer formed by its accumulation can also block heat loss and reduce the temperature drop rate of the iron ladle.
High-purity ferrosilicon production: High-purity ferrosilicon that meets the relevant standards such as Si-1 to Si-5 can be selected, with a particle size of 10-50mm. The sum of the above-screen and below-screen materials should not exceed 10% of the total mass of less than 20×20mm.
Rare earth ferrosilicon alloy production: The cross section of rare earth ferrosilicon alloy should be silver-gray, with a particle size range of 5-50mm. The particles less than 5mm and greater than 50mm should not exceed 5% of the total mass, so the ferrosilicon particle size of 10-50mm meets its production requirements.