The development of new technological processes and the improvement of existing technologies, where refractory materials for various purposes and technical ceramics with an operating temperature of up to 1900°C are used, require these materials to not only have high thermal insulation properties but also sufficient strength and high mechanical properties. Moreover, some components in both newly developed and existing systems could be replaced by lightweight and durable elements made of ceramics and biodegradable fibers.
In recent years, the world’s leading manufacturers of ceramic fibers have increasingly focused on vacuum-formed products and expanded their product range. The operating temperatures of such products are considered quite high – up to 1800°C.
Most specialists and designers mistakenly believe that lightweight materials can be used as thermal insulation at any temperature. The ambiguity of such a conclusion is easy to explain.
It is associated with traditional and superficial approaches that the vast majority of thermal insulation materials are used in everyday life and construction for energy-saving purposes. The maximum operating temperature of such insulation is not expected to exceed 800°C.
However, it is forgotten that at temperatures approaching 800°C, heat is predominantly transferred by radiation, and a whole range of insulating lightweight materials may be inferior in their insulating properties to dense and heavy materials at higher temperatures.
The decisive factors for this are the structure of the material, the size of the pores, the number of defects in the continuous phase, and a range of optical and magnetic properties of the substance from which a particular thermal insulation element is made.
The development of the required structure and the management of the properties of this structure is the future of thermal insulation materials used in high-temperature processes.
It is possible to develop lightweight materials that can work in contact with liquid metals, both non-ferrous and alloyed steel. These materials should be suitable for the production of filters for hot gas purification with an operating temperature of up to 1800°C.
Another intended use is the production of lightweight refractory products instead of dense and massive refractory products, which exhibit high wear resistance and high mechanical properties.
Keeping pace with progress and staying ahead of it as much as possible is the goal of companies that are active not only in production but also in scientific research.
We have many years of experience in using thermal insulation materials, where fiber and foam materials serve not only as the heat source. Based on our experience, we have also been able to develop a technology for producing lightweight products with flexible and adjustable properties and operating temperatures up to 1800°C.
Our company is one of the few that can produce large-format, lightweight, and durable fiber products using the vacuum forming process. These products are compact, consist of only one piece, and the use of composite components in the manufacture of these products is excluded.
The total of the three dimensions can reach up to 1000 mm, and the wall thickness ranges from 10 to 100 mm.
For larger and thicker products, we successfully use various adhesives and bonding agents of our own production.