Steam explosions are possible during granulation of Si and
FeSi75. These explosions are a great hazard, and must be
avoided. Norwegian ferroalloy producers have initiated a
research program to learn more about such violent melt-water
interactions, in a joint effort with NTNU and SINTEF. The focus
has primarily been on important parameters that can be
controlled industrially, such as water temperature and metal
composition. This thesis-work has focused on the effect of small
additions of Al and Ca in Si-metal and FeSi75. However, within
the same project, experiments on the effect of water temperature
have also been carried out. The work has primarily been of
experimental character. Two experimental apparatuses have been
used. The first apparatus allows us to rapidly melt a sample of
metal in an inert atmosphere to a desired temperature, expose
the surface of the melt to an oxidizing agent (i.e. water) and
then rapidly cool the sample to room temperature. The oxide that
forms at the surface is examined with a m