Abstract
Physical and Structural properties of blended clay deposits from Ramin Yunbu and Shabu Stream in Lafia, Nasarawa State were investigated to assess their suitability for refractory applications. The clays were subjected to a series of characterization tests including sieve analysis, chemical composition studies using X-ray fluorescence (XRF)., moisture content, Atterberg limits, linear shrinkage, bulk density, apparent porosity, cold crushing strength, thermal conductivity, X-ray diffraction (XRD) Scans and simulations. The clay samples are rich in oxides of Alumina, Iron, Calcium and Titanium and Kaolinitic and had grains of sizes less than 400 m indicating low plasticity. The ratio of Silica:Alumina for the clay samples was 1.546 putting them in the class of Alumina Silicate refractory clays. Their XRD patterns show some sharp well defined peaks indicating good crystallinity, and showed the presence of kaolinite, quartz, and illite which were the predominant crystalline phases in both clay samples.The Shabu Stream clay and the clay sample had Bulk densities of 0.75 g/cm3 and good for making load bearing bricks while for the Ramin Yubu Shabu clay sample it was 0.42 g/cm3 suggesting that it needs blending with other additive to enhance its performance. The Moisture contents of 19.8 % and 17.81 % were obtained for the The Shabu Stream clay and Ramin Yubu Shabu clay respectively. Shabu Stream Clay showed a higher Al₂O₃ content of about 24.6% indicating better thermal stability, while RaminYubuShabu Clay exhibited a slightly lower percentage of 22.4% suggesting that it needs blending with other additive to enhance its performance. The cold crushing strength test revealed that Shabu Stream Clay has a CCS value of 9.5 MPa, while RaminYubuShabu Clay showed a lower value of 6.0 MPa indicating that the Shabu stream clay has better refractory property. It is hoped that these results will add to already existing knowledge.