Data on interactions in the ZrO 2 -Fe 2 O 3 system stabilized by oxides in a high-temperature form at 1750°C are obtained. Of all zirconia-based compositions, only magnesium-zirconium cubic solid solution enters into an active reaction with Fe 2 O 3 to yield MgFe 2 O 4 . The solid solutions formed by ZrO 2 with oxides of yttrium, neodymium, and calcium resist degradation by attack from Fe 2 O 3 ; part of iron oxide undergoes dissolution in cubic ZrO 2 .Components made of zirconium dioxide are promising for service in the metallurgical industry [1, 2]. Zirconiabased materials, owing to their high resistance to molten metal, have found application in the manufacture of the proportioning equipment for continuous casting machines in special steel technologies or the inserts for slide-gate plates. As is known, the main reason for the rapid wear of refractories exposed to molten steel is corrosion which, as a rule, results from the interaction of refractory constituents, slag, and oxide impurities in the metal.In what follows we report on the results of an experimental study of the high-temperature interaction between Fe 2 O 3 (a major component of metallurgical slags) and zirconium dioxide stabilized (fully or in part) in the high-temperature cubic modification by oxides.Stabilization of the high-temperature ZrO 2 was carried out in the following manner.Baddeleyite concentrate (available from the Kovdorskii Mining and Dressing Kombinat, Kovdor, Murmansk Region, Russia), first grade, £ 98.5% ZrO 2 , fraction 0.5 -0 mm, in a mixture with a stabilizing oxide, was ground in a rubber-lined vibratory mill for 15 h at a grinding balls : material ratio of 9 : 1. The stabilizing additives used were 12 mol.% CaO, 12 mol.% MgO, 12 mol.% Nd 2 O 3 , and 3.8% Y 2 O 3 . The finely dispersed mixtures (with a specific surface of about 3000 cm 2 /g) were pressed into briquettes under a pressure of 100 MPa using a bond (a 5% polyvinyl alcohol solution). The briquettes were fired in air at 1750°C for 4 h. The fired briquettes were crushed and finely ground to obtain a fraction of 0.25 -0 mm. The finely ground powders were subjected to magnetic separation and mixtures of stabilized ZrO 2 and Fe 2 O 3 were prepared at specified component ratios. The mixture components were homogenized in a rubber-lined vibromill for 15 h at a ratio of 9 : 1 (see above). The finely ground mixtures were pressed into cylindrical pellets of diameter and length 15 mm under a pressure of 100 MPa; the bond was a 5% polyvinyl alcohol solution added at a concentration of 6 -7%.

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