Effects of the Ultrafine and Nano-sized Clay on Rheological Behavior of the Matrix of ρ-alumina Bonded Castable

To prepare the alumina cement free vibrated alumina castable, $\rho$-alumina is employed as a binder material, and nano-sized clay is added to enhance the curing strength and give thixotropic behavior. The rheological behavior of matrix of castable is controlled by investigating the influences of ultrafines, $\rho$-alumina, and nano-sized clay on the viscosity of matrix. The microsilica and ultrafine alumina were added 3 wt% and 4 wt%, respectively to the matrix, which showed that the viscosities tends to be lowest values. The rheological property of the matrix is well established by adding $\rho$-alumina as 8 wt% and clay as 4 wt%. The thixotropic behavior of the $\rho$-alumina bonded castable was appeared by introducing nano-sized clay into the matrix and adjusting the pH near to the PZC of the clay suspension.