USE OF THE TEXTURE ANALYZER TO STUDY SINTER STRUCTURE - APPLICATION TO THE MORPHOLOGY OF CALCIUM FERRITES ENCOUNTERED IN BASIC SINTERS OF RICH IRON-ORES

Quantitative image analysis applied to iron ore sinters gives complementary information to chemical analysis such as quantitative mineralogical analysis, and also quantitative geometric properties of crystals and of porous networks (size distribution, repartition). Spatial disposition of sinter components produced during crystallization builds different textures which are well known to mineralogists. The types of textures encountered can be related to initial composition, cooling conditions and to physical properties of the sinter (mechanical strength, reducibility). In order to estimate the relative importance of each texture in a sinter, measurements made using a pattern recognition procedure are required. Algorithms for automatic pattern recognition were established for calcium ferrites texture encountered in rich iron ore basic sinters. They depend on a specific treatment of morphological parameters estimated inside fields of measurement of the texture analyser. Furthermore, mathematical models of multicomponent structures based on mathematical morphology, are used for different calcium ferrites textures. The parameters of these models are estimated from experimental measurements made with a texture analyser. The present study is a part of a research programme made by IRSID (Institute of Research of French Steel Industry) on the structure of iron ore sinters in order to explain variations of their physical properties related to their behaviour in the blast furnace. 1979 Blackwell Science Ltd