Interfaces between the textural components in metallurgical cokes

The work presented in this thesis aims at furthering the understanding of the microtexture of metallurgical cokes with regard to the interfacial properties of their optical components. Metallurgical coke, on the scale considered, can be understood as a composite of unfused carbon embedded in a porous matrix of fused material. The matrix is composed of textural units varying in size and shape depending on the rank of the coal or blend of coals carbonised. The quality of the interfaces between them and of those they form with the unfused material can reasonably be expected to influence macroscopic coke properties such as mechanical strength. [Continues.]