Hydration of refractory oxides in castable bond systems—II: alumina–silica and magnesia–silica mixtures

Isothermal conduction calorimetry was used to investigate binary mixtures of hydratable alumina-fumed silica and reactive magnesia-fumed silica for 22 h at 20 and 30 °C. Neither alumina nor magnesia formed a crystalline hydration product with silica under these experimental conditions. Silica tended to retard the hydration of magnesia, whereas it acted as an inert diluent when added to alumina.