A technique to study the dissolution and diffusion behavior of Al2O3 in CaO–Al2O3–SiO2 liquids was presented. The dissolution of spherical Al2O3 particles at elevated temperatures was observed using confocal scanning laser microscopy and interpreted by means of numerical simulations with a lattice Boltzmann dissolution model. The dissolution mechanism was identified as diffusion-controlled and an estimate of the effective binary diffusion coefficient and its activation energy was obtained. The technique was readily applicable to other systems.

Dissolution and Diffusion Behavior of Al2O3 in a CaO–Al2O3–SiO2 Liquid - an Experimental-Numerical Approach. F.Verhaeghe, J.Liu, M.Guo, S.Arnout, B.Blanpain, P.Wollants: Applied Physics Letters, 2007, 91[12], 124104