208 D11. Recent Advances in Geoarchaeology: Studies from Asia, Europe and the Americas

Wednesday, 18 October 2023
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
330

SLAG - SOFTWARE FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF HISTORICAL SMELTING PROCESSES BASED ON SLAG PROPERTIES

Paper number: 208-14
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 11:05 AM – 11:20 AM

Authors

Abstract

Reconstructions of historical smelting processes can be made based on analyses of the chemical and mineralogical composition of materials formed at various stages of the smelting process. Metallurgical slags are often used for this purpose since they are often the only material that remains from former smelting operations.

The Python programming language was used to create the SLAG software, which can be used to reconstruct historical metallurgical processes. SLAG allows for determining the smelting temperature, the viscosity of the metallurgical melt, and the oxygen and sulfur fugacities during smelting. With software, both liquidus temperature and melt viscosity can be calculated using different models, covering the range of chemical compositions of historical slags as wide as possible. Liquidus temperature is calculated for materials with chemical compositions corresponding to blast furnace slags and mold fluxes. SLAG software enables the determination of melt viscosity using models proposed for natural rocks and modern materials. The range of applicability of viscosity and liquidus temperature depends on the limitations of individual models. Based on thermodynamic calculations, SLAG software allows the performance of O2 and S2 fugacity calculations in the temperature range of 1000-2000K (727-1727 °C). The thermodynamic equilibrium conditions between the metallic, oxide, and sulfide phases of the most common elements in slags are determined during the calculations. With the software, it is also possible to create predominance area diagrams (PAD) and diagrams that consider the viscosity's dependence on temperature for slag of a given chemical composition. Based on glass transition temperature (Tg) and melt fragility, it is also possible to reconstruct the conditions that prevailed during the various stages of historical glass manufacturing processes.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Science Center (NCN) grant no. 2019/35/O/ST10/00313.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-389689

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