User Guide

Elkem Materials Mixture Analyser EMMA

Contents
Chapter 1. EMMA Size Distribution Analyser ............................................... 2
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 2
EMMA for refractory castable design ..................................................................................... 2
EMMA for high performance and self-compacting concrete ............................................... 3
The abilities of EMMA......................................................................................................................... 3
Further help and assistance ................................................................................................................ 3
Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................................... 4

Chapter 2. The software ................................................................................ 5

Environment ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Development and Design.................................................................................................................... 5
System Requirements ......................................................................................................................... 5
Installation .......................................................................................................................................... 5
How to run EMMA .............................................................................................................................. 6

Chapter 3. How to use EMMA........................................................................ 7

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 7
How to make a material library .......................................................................................................... 7
How to make changes in the material library.......................................................................... 13
How to make a recipe ....................................................................................................................... 14
Improve your recipe ......................................................................................................................... 24

Appendix 1. Other features of the EMMA software ..................................... 26

The Options window ....................................................................................................................... 26
Utilising EMMA Graphics .................................................................................................................. 27

Appendix 2. A description of the Andreassen Model. ................................... 29

Appendix 3. Method of estimating density of a castable. ............................. 32

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Chapter 1. EMMA Size Distribution Analyser

Introduction
EMMA is a software that calculates and displays the particle size distribution of a mixture of
components. It was originally developed for designing self-flowing refractory castable compositions
at Elkem.
Today, particle size distributions of different building products, ceramics, concrete etc. are
investigated by this tool. Even when the flowability is not the issue, efficient particle packing may be
desired for these products, increasing mechanical strength, reducing liquid addition during
processing, etc. Independent of consolidation method, models for making efficient particle packing
are applied.
EMMA for refractory castable design
A castable is in the simplest case a mixture of raw materials from the grog, sand,
gravel or aggregate to the superfines like microsilica which has submicron particle
size. The significance of a proper particle size distribution has been widely recognised
in the latest years. A precise grading of the particle sizes enables us to make a
castable which is easily mixed and placed and also has the desired mechanical
properties.
It has been shown, that a castable with a particle size distribution that follows this
model, the castable will be either self-flowing or vibratable, depending on the
chosen q-value (assuming constant water addition and a well dispersed system). We
have found that q=0.25 is the approximate limit for self flow contra vibra flow. A qvalue lower than 0.25 gives a self flowing castable, this may be done by adding the
sufficient amount of superfine material. With microsilica in the composition packing
efficiency is improved.
In EMMA we construct composite particle size distributions of the raw materials. By
manipulating the particle size distribution, we have shown that you may predict the
flowability of the mix. For refractory producers EMMA is a useful tool. You may for
instance reduce the number of components by using open ended fractions that
overlap. Castables can be made according to a predetermined PSD or some well
performing mixture may be repeated with other raw materials. If a milled fraction for
some reason has changed characteristics, it is relatively simple to adjust the recipe so
that the desired PSD is maintained.
Determination of factors affecting changing flowability in production is a typical
problem, which may be approached by a closer study of the particle size distribution.
The ability to control the particle size distribution is important also in quality control
and production. More flexibility of raw materials choice and reduced costs of the raw
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materials are major concerns of the refractory producer. By supplying tools like
EMMA, Elkem provides a benefit to producers.
EMMA for high performance and self-compacting concrete
Optimise your concrete mix design EMMA is an easy-to-use computer program
that helps people optimise & refine their concrete mix designs.
The user inputs the Particle Size Distribution (PSD) of their sand, gravel & cementing
materials and EMMA predicts the optimum blend of those materials to make the
best concrete.
The system accommodates the full range of concrete types: self-compacting to roller
compacted and conventional strength to ultra high performance.

Calculate the CO2 impact of your concrete mixture Once youve optimised your
concrete mixture for particle packing performance, EMMA can calculate its CO2
loading. To reduce the carbon footprint, you can try and replace high CO2 materials
such as Portland cement, with low CO2 materials, such as silica fume.

The abilities of EMMA

EMMA is applied in the investigation of the particle size distribution of a combination of materials,
each with known particle size distributions.
You create your own library of particle size distributions for different materials. You can then
determine the particle size distribution for any combination of these materials. After the quantity of
the individual materials have been entered, the distribution is given in numbers as well as presented
in a graphical format. This graph is compared to the Andreassen model.
EMMA is the successor of the software package named SizeDist which only runs on x-l. Version 5.0,
English Version. EMMA is called language independent because it is no longer dependant on this
underlying program.
With EMMA you may use the particle size distributions from laboratory work or from the datasheet.
This is possible in the Interpolate panel as you create your own material library.

Further help and assistance

A Welcome to Emma flash video is available at www.elkem.com
Elkem invites you to use the e-mail address [email protected] for comments and ideas for
further development of this software.
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Disclaimer
When you install the program and every time you start EMMA a disclaimer will be shown. This is a
general, standard disclaimer to protect Elkem AS from litigation in the case of material failure. Elkem
AS holds no responsibility for the use or misuse of the program.
Our advice to newcomers to particle size analysis is to always follow up by experimental testing and
use general experience in mix design and material properties. Together the results have shown to be
remarkable.
The disclaimer: The information given in EMMA and this Users guide is based on many years of
research and field experience and is accurate to the best knowledge of Elkem AS. However, due to
the numerous factors that can affect the performance of the final product, such as concrete or
mortar, Elkem AS offers this information without guarantee and accepts no liability for any direct or
indirect damages from its use.
Another disclaimer is shown when downloading EMMA from the Internet:
This Computer Program and accompanying Manual are intended for guidance in planning and
designing concrete mixtures with specific properties in the fresh state. These items are intended for
the use of individuals who are competent to evaluate the significance and limitations of their content
and recommendations and who will accept responsibility for the application of the material it
contains. Elkem AS shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of this computer
program and its documentation.

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Chapter 2. The software

Environment
The EMMA application is a standard software application built for running on
Microsoft Windows operating systems or compatibles. It is a stand-alone package
that is not dependent on other plug-ins or modules. The software uses English in all
menus, tips, buttons etc.

Development and Design

The main modules of EMMA were developed using the software development tool
from Inprise; Borland Delphi. It was compiled and built in a 32-bit code environment,
using Borland Delphi 4 and Microsoft Windows as the platform.

System Requirements
Compatible with Microsoft Windows operating system (Windows Version 3 to present)

Installation
EMMA can be downloaded from the Elkem website, http://www.elkem.com/en/Siliconmaterials/Support/Software-EMMA/

Once downloaded, unzip the file into a suitable folder on your computer.

Click EMMA.exe to run the program.

The Setup program welcomes you with Disclaimer Information. Read the information and select the
button OK to go to the next dialog screen. You are greeted with a welcome to the Setup program.
Press "Next" to continue the installation.
The "Choose Destination Location" window gives you the opportunity to specify an alternative target
directory for installing EMMA. When clicking "Next" you can select if you want to backup any older
EMMA files on your PC. If you choose to make backup copies of the replaced files, please select a
destination directory.
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In the next dialog screen, you can select and deselect the components you need to install. First time
users should select both the EMMA Program Files and the User Documentation. You should also
select the appropriate Material Library for your application, i.e. Concrete or Refractory. Click "next"
again to perform the actual installation. Press "Finish" after EMMA has been successfully installed.

How to run EMMA

After installation, you may run EMMA by selecting its icon from the Start Menu. You will find this by
clicking on the Start Menu button, selecting "Programs", "EMMA" and then "EMMA Size Distribution
Analyser".
If you look in the C:/Program Files/EMMA folder you will see the installed files. You can also run the
program by clicking on EMMA.exe in the C:/Program Files/EMMA folder.

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Chapter 3. How to use EMMA

Introduction
When you start EMMA, you will see an open Materials In Library and Active Recipe Folder. Some
typical materials are already available for you in Materials In Library.
In the Active Recipe Folder a Fused Alumina Castable recipe is already saved for you as an example
of a refractory castable mix.

How to make a material library

Start by adding your materials to the library Click the materials library icon located at the top of
the materials in library column.

A blank materials library record will open.

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Click on 'new material' and write in the name of the material.

It is essential when entering numerical data into the EMMA program that you use a decimal
separator that is consistent with your current computer settings, i.e. use either decimal point or
comma, whichever is set as your computers current default.

It is also essential to enter a particle density value. Particle density is a mandatory requirement
because EMMA needs the particle density to calculate particle packing.

Fill in as much or as little data for the other fields as you wish: name, CO2 content, origin, price etc.
(Note: If you intend to review the CO2 content of your recipe, then you must enter a CO2 value for
every material you intend to use in your mix).

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Next, click the 'interpolate panel' button. Do not enter anything into the panel on the right
(Distribution data).

Input the data for your material sieve size and percentage passing note the sieve size is in
microns.

If your data is available on an Excel spreadsheet, click on Import Materials and follow the on-screen
prompts to copy and paste your data directly from Excel.

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Next, press the calculate distribution button next to the panel - EMMA will transpose your
interpolation data to the Distribution data panel on the right.

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At this point you can review the d50 box, which EMMA has calculated for you. If no value is shown,
click on the button next to the box to 'recalculate' the d50. This is the mean value of your material
grading and can be used as a check test - it will correspond to an aggregate size at the 50% value on
the 'distribution data' grading.

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Now click 'Save material'.

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You will see that the material is now in the library column on the left.

The panel will stay open for further input click on new and start with your next material.

Material can be entered by copying from the clipboard if you have the data available in this fashion
follow the on-screen prompts.

Repeat this for all your components - all coarse aggregates, all fine aggregates, cements, pozzolans,
fillers, pigments etc.

In the standard library there are already some generic materials. Note that you can make a
personal or project materials library by pressing the New library button.

How to make changes in the material library

Select the material you want to change from the list. Make any required changes (this may be
necessary when PSD or density values need to be updated, a new material supply with different
properties is received, etc). Press save each time you have altered a material. If the Remove button is
used, the material is deleted from the library.
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How to make a recipe

Once you have saved your materials into the library, you can use them to compile a recipe (either a
refractory castable or a concrete mix).

Click on the 'New recipe' box at the top of the screen.

The program will prompt you to enter a file name. Enter your choice of filename then click Save.

A new blank recipe record will open. Fill in any suitable description details for your recipe.

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Then you take the cursor over to the materials library, either double click or drag and drop your
selection of materials, one by one, into the recipe box into the column Material name.

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Then put in the weights (quantity) of each material for your recipe.
The additives like dispersant, retarder, accelerator is typically below 0.1 wt% of Recipe. They may be
added as powder or in a solution. Usually the additive is not accounted for in the particle size
distribution curves displayed in EMMA.

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Next, enter your desired water quantity for your recipe. (The box for this is towards the top left of
the screen). Water amount is added to the dry mixture and comes in addition to the 100 wt% of dry
material. The PSD curve in EMMA Graphics shows the dry materials, so you may view graph even if
the Water Quantity is not entered.

You can now see that the program has calculated the volumes and density of your recipe. (The CO2
value for the recipe will also be shown, provided you assigned a CO2 value to each of your materials
when you saved them into the library.)
Note: If your quantities do not add up to 100, you may do this by Normalize Quantities button
(represented by the ! graphic) on the left side in Materials In Composition. When it adds up to 100,
each number under Quantity is wt% of material in the mixture. The program calculates the volume
percent of each fraction.

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Once you have your mix in the table, look at the bottom of the screen. There is an option to select
either the Andreassen Model or a Modified Andreassen Model. For this example, we are going to
use the Andreassen Model.

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Also at the bottom of the screen you can see q-value and Maximum particle size. For the
maximum particle size you should enter the maximum size of the aggregate in your recipe this will
help EMMA to draw a graph later using a suitable scale. Note that unit value is microns.

For the q-value you should enter a value appropriate to the type of mix you are designing. The qvalue gives the slope of the target line on the graph. 0.30 is the default value.
There is no hard correlation between the q-value and rheological properties, however the following
points are informative:

The higher the q-value, the steeper the slope and the mix will be more coarse and less
workable.
At lower q-value, the fines content will be increased and the mix more workable.
A q-value of less than 0.36 is necessary for optimum particle packing.
Good free-flow in mortar results when the q-value is less than 0.25
For self-compacting concrete 0.28 has been found beneficial
For a self-flowing refractory mix, the q-value should be in the range of 0.21-0.25 in order to
obtain self-flow at minimum water addition using enough fine materials such as Microsilica.

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In the example screen shot shown below, a q-value of 0.34 was selected as an example, being a
suggested concrete mix with target slump of 130mm. You may find that you require a different qvalue because of the materials you are using and it may be necessary to put in some mixes that you
have practical experience of, to calibrate a suitable q-value for your application.

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Now you can review a graph of your recipe. (The graph size can be viewed full screen by clicking the
button up on the top right.)
Once you have chosen a suitable q-value, click on 'View graph'.

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The straight red line is your target (perfect particle packing based on the Andreassen Model), the
irregular line (blue) is the particle packing of your recipe.
When your blue line is above the red target line, you have too much material of that size, - when
below, you have too little. If you place the cursor on the line at such a point, it will tell you what size
of material it is.

You then click on the 'close' button, and you are back to your recipe box.

Improve your recipe

You can now start to optimise your mix by adjusting your particle distribution to better fit the
Andreassen curve. Try changing the quantity of a material in your recipe and then review the effect
on the graph. (Note you could also use the Preview graph option, to view the graph alongside
your recipe).
You may want to make changes of the materials in the composition. Materials may be entered or
removed from the recipe on the left side of Materials In Composition.

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An experienced technologist will be able to use EMMA to adjust their recipe until it reaches an
optimum compromise of particle packing, CO2 content and economic cost.
Remember to Save the recipe. Graphs can also be saved by clicking the appropriate button.

Note that EMMA only reviews the particle packing other concrete mix parameters such as dosage
and action of superplastciser will have to be determined in the real mixture you make in the lab, to
get the optimum flow characteristics required for the project.

EMMA can also be used to reverse engineer mixes already in use. Good mixes, designed
previously, can be fed into the program and checked to see just how good they are or to determine
a specific q Value (by matching the target line to the mix line, rather than the other way around).

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Appendix 1. Other features of the EMMA software

The Options window

The options window may be opened from the Options button on the Tool bar.
In the General Settings tab, selecting the Display Recipe Filename Caption option gives the recipe
filename shown above Recipe Details.
Buttons are shown above the Materials in Library and Active Recipe Folder if Draw Extra
Environment Graphics is chosen.
Material library tab Materials may also be stored in different libraries, for instance one for all
alumina raw materials, one for the cements available etc. Your matlib.dat. may easily be copied by a
copy-paste operation of the file.
If you want to establish a second material library, start by creating a new dat.file in your EMMA
folder (or in another folder). In Options you then enter the path to the new file in Material Library in
Use and press OK.
You may exchange files with your co-workers, and build up a number of libraries.
The Calculation Module tab shows the model being used. The Andreassen model, which is displayed
in Default Calculation Module. You also have access to Modified Andreassen (see Appendix 1.)
In the Default Calculation Module you may change from Andreassen to Modified Andreassen model.
When you choose this alternative, three Module Parameters are shown: Q-Value, Max Particle Size
and Min Particle Size. All three parameters may be altered to change the shape of the graph.
Default value for q-value are set to 0.30 and Max Particle Size 8000 in EMMA. This may be changed
in Options. This function is useful when you are designing different mixes with the same q-value and
maximum particle size.
Values for q and maximum particle size need to be entered before the View Graph function is used.
For example, entering a value of zero would result in an error message: "Cannot calculate with zero
values in model. Reconfigure values in calculation model for recipe."
Active Recipe Folder tab If you have made a number of recipes, you may want to save them in
different folders. If you want to establish a second recipe list, start by creating a new recipe folder
(like Recipes already in EMMA). In Options you then change to the new recipe list and press the OK
button.

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Utilising EMMA Graphics

Preview window: The EMMA User have access to a preview window. Press the Tool bar preview to
see it. A small window of the EMMA graph is displayed simultaneously with the recipe. When you
modify your recipe, the effect on the cumulative particle size distribution curve is shown. As the
program is calculating, you read "working" in the preview window.
To look at the preview window is optional. Press at the x in the right, upper corner, and the preview
window is not shown anymore. Press the tool bar for it to re-appear.
Press Open in the preview window , and you see the graph displayed full screen.
The EMMA Graphics window shows the (CPFT) Cumulative Percent Finer Than (vol%) as a function of
(Particle Size) in a double logarithmic plot.
The axis have set values at 1,10,100,1000,10 000, 100 000 for the x-axis (Particle sizes 1 micron to
100 mm) and 0,1,1,0,10,0 and 100 (Percentage Pass) for the y-axis.
When you press the 100 000 button in the lower, right corner, the maximum particle size changes to
10 mm. For refractory castable mixes, the maximum particle size is usually lower than 10 mm. For
concretes maximum particle sizes up to approx 50 mm = 5 cm exists.
Under Graphics on the left side y-axis or x-axis values may be shown in more detail. Press Y, to see yaxis values. Press y again, to return to normal view. Values (Percentage pass/Particle Size) may be
read along the distribution curve.
Series Width Increase this value (2,3..) and the thickness of the curves increases. It makes it easier
to fix values with the pointer, but usually the Series Width is held at 1.
Selection Panel To read the actual values of your PSD curve, it is recommended to use the pointer.
When you point at the PSD curve, a small hand appears. You can read Particle Size and Percentage
Pass in a small window that temporarily is shown. To make a note of values, use the Selection Panel
button. Size and Pass will be shown to the right of the graph when you click on a selected point.
Tip: Mark the same 3 or 4 points for the Selection panel (example 5 micron, 50 micron, 500 micron, 5
mm) for different recipes. This data is helpful for comparison between recipes.
Zoom function To take a closer look, make a window within the graphical sheet by using the left
hand button on the mouse. To go back to the standard magnification, press the Reset button. The
Mode button gives the graph on full screen.
By pressing the Save button, the graph may be saved as a Bitmap file (BMP). Your graphs are saved in
EMMA together with the recipes, so it is not necessary to save the graph. However, if you want to do
further work on the graph lay-out (for presentation etc), it is possible to save the graph in a separate
Bitmap file.
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When you press Print you are asked "Do you want to print composition details in addition to the
recipe graphics?" Press Yes and the recipe and graph will be printed out. If you set Paper /Size to A4
and Orientation to Landscape in the Print Setup window, you get the print-out over a full, horizontal
A4 page.
The calculated values of the PSD may be studied by opening the Calculation Matrix button in the Tool
bar (or clicking on System /Composition Matrix from the Menu bar). The EMMA Composition Matrix
window has been used as an aid by the programmer. The calculations are in accordance with the
Andreassen Model, which is given in Appendix 2.

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Appendix 2. A description of the Andreassen Model.

At Elkem we have investigated the effects of varying the particle size distributions in refractory
castables. Some of the ideas may be found in the following references:

B. Myhre and Aase M. Hundere, "The use of particle size distribution in development of
refractory castables " Presented at the XXV ALAFAR Congress, San Carlos de Bariloche,
Argentina, Dec. 1-4 1996.
R. M. German, " Particle Packing Characteristics", Metal Powder Industries Federation,
Princeton, N.J. 1989.

In EMMA the particle size distribution of a combination of materials chosen by the user is compared
to the Andreassen Model.
Andreassen suggested in 1931 that optimal packing occurs when the particle size distribution can be
described by this model:
CPFT = (d/D)q*.100
-q* means q is the exponent
Where CPFT is the Cumulative (Volume) Percent Finer Than,
d is the particle size,
D is the Maximum particle size,
and q is the distribution coefficient.
By computer simulation, it has later been shown that 0% voids (i.e. 100% packing) is possible if q is
equal to or less than 0,37. (ref. D.R. Dinger and J.E.Funk:Interceram 41 (1992) 5, pg. 332-334.)
In EMMA the following calculations are performed;
When the PSD and the density of the different components are available, the first step is to calculate
the volume of each component i (Vi), by the use of the amount Ni and the density di. Because the
amount is converted to absolute volume, it may be entered either as percent or as weight. The
weight unit should of course comply with the unit used in the density.
Vi = Ni /di
The volume fraction Xi of a mixture of n components may then be calculated:
n

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Xi = Vi / Vi
i=1

Then for each component, multiply the CPFT for each size class with the corresponding volume
fraction. This gives the contribution from each size class of component I to the PSD of the entire mix.
CPFTi mix = Xi * CPFTi
Then add up the CPFTi mix for a given size class for all components to give the composite CPFT for that
size class.
n

CPFT mix = CPFTi mix

i=1

By now, each size class should have a corresponding composite CPFT, CPFTmix, that contains elements
from all components. The composite PSD is given as the graph in EMMA.
A distribution with a large fraction of fines can be described by the Andreassen Model with a smaller
q-value than a distribution with a smaller fraction of fines.
Packing theories deals with the packing of elements or volumes. If all elements are of the same
density, the volume percentage is proportional to the weight percentage. However, in the
experimental setting materials of different density are often combined, therefore, in order to apply
the theories it is important to transform the weights, which are natural to work with in the
laboratory, into volumes. In SizeDist the calculation of the volume percentages is automatic in order
to present the correct particle size distribution.
Because of the q-value in the exponent of the Andreassen model, the model is normally presented in
a log/log plot. The q-value can then be found as the slope of the plot.

Modified Andreassen Model:

To deal with the problem of infinite distribution of the Andreassen distribution, a modified version
that links the Andreassen and the Furnas distribution has later been developed. This is called the
modified Andreassen distribution and is shown here:
CPFT = (dq*-dmq*/Dq*-dmq*)
q* means q is the exponent.
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Where CPFT is the Cumulative (Volume) Percent Finer Than,

d is the particle size,
dm is the minimum particle size of the distribution
D is the Maximum particle size,
and q is the distribution coefficient (q-value),
The modified Andreassen equation takes into account a minimum particle size, whereas the
Andreassen distribution suppose an infinite distribution towards smaller and smaller particles. On a
logarithmic plot, that of Andreassen gives a straight line, while the modified equation gives a
downward curvature.
It is seen when the superfine fraction (like microsilica or superfine alumina) are removed from a
particle size distribution following the Andreassen distribution, the resultant particle size distribution
follows the modified Andreassen equation. When self-flowing mixes are to be designed, one should
apply the Andreassen equation.
Reference article "Effect of finest fractions (SiO2 and /or Al2O3) in alumina based ultra low cement
castables was presented at Acers April 14.-17., 1996 and is available upon request to Elkem.
One experiment was set up for a ULCC based on fused alumina with 9 wt% fine alumina and 8 wt%
microsilica. Comparison of flow was done on the reference, a mix without the microsilica and a mix
without the fine alumina. Water was added until vibra-flow values of 90% was achieved (ASTM C230
for flow cone). The reference needed 2.7 wt% water, while the mix free of microsilica needed 6.0
wt% water and the mix free of fine alumina needed 3.7 wt% water. Removal of fines below 1 micron
is detrimental with respect to the flow properties of these castables.
Examples when Modified Andreassen may be applied include: vibratable castables, mortars and selfcompacting concretes.

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Appendix 3. Method of estimating density of a castable.

The density of a castable can be expressed as:
d = i (di * vi)/100
where d is the density of the castable,
di is the density of material i,
vi is the volume percentage of material i.

A castable for practical purposes must be of good castability. The flow value* with vibration is a good
indicator of castability. If the flow value is above 120, one would expect negligible amounts of
trapped air when using vibration while casting. We can therefore make the following assumption:
1. All porosity is caused by the water addition.
In addition, we assume that:
2. The water is removed completely after dehydration.
3. The water is substituted by air with approximately zero density.
4. Shrinkage of the castable after dehydration is negligible.
These assumptions imply that the volume percent of added water can be used as an estimate of the
porosity. This is the estimate for the porosity given in EMMA. Density of the material before water is
removed is called Green Density.
When estimating the density of the castable, the volume percentages used in the above formula
must be calculated with water added, to account for the porosity caused by water. However, since
the water is assumed to be substituted by air of zero density, the contribution from the water in the
sum will be:
dwater * vwater (after dehydration) dair * vwater = 0 * vwater = 0

Our estimate of the density of the dehydrated castable will therefore be the sum on top of this page
(called Dried density in EMMA), where the volume percentages for each material is calculated as if
water were one of the materials. The contribution from water in the sum is however zero.

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1 A.H.M. Andreassen and J.Andersen, Kolloid Z. 50 (1930) 217-228.

* The flow-values are measured by a standard method. Freshly mixed castable is filled into a cone
(ASTM C230 Flow testing) placed on a vibratable table. The cone is removed and the castable is
vibrated for 15 seconds at a double amplitude of 0.75mm. The flow-value represents the percentage
increase of the diameter of the castable.

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