All You Need to Know About Ceramic Insulation
Summary
Ceramic insulation is made from needled high-temperature ceramic fibers and provides good quality lightweight high-temperature insulation up to 2300°F or 1260°C. Ceramic insulation is generally called high-temperature insulation wool and sometimes ceramic fiber blanket.
Ceramic insulation is commonly used in tube seals, furnace maintenance, fabric expansion joints, high-temperature gaskets, and industrial insulation blankets. Though ceramic insulation has good thermal resistance, it doesn’t provide as much strength and durability as a glass mat. It is also available in 6 pound or 8-pound densities.
Picture Courtesy: JD Jones
Ceramic Fiber Insulation
Ceramic fiber products consist of thermally efficient high-temperature insulating materials that combines the advantages of low heat storage and complete resistance to thermal shock thus offers a broad range of thermal capabilities and physical features.
Ceramic Fibre Blankets
Ceramic Fibre Blanket is refractory fiber needled mat made from fibers. Being Zirconia stabilized every blanket are suitable for use upto 1260°C and 1425°C. A wide range of densities, chemistries, and thickness Fibre Blankets are available.
Application
Furnace & Kiln linings
High-temperature gaskets
Removable insulating blankets for steam and gas turbines
Low-velocity stack lining
Flexible high-temperature pipe insulation
Temporary repair of refractory furnace linings
Advantages
Low Shrinkage
Excellent Thermal Stability
Inorganic - Smoke-free
Excellent Thermal Shock Resistance
Low Heat Storage Capacity
Excellent Heat Strength
Low Thermal Conductivity
Ceramic Fibre Modules
Fiber modules are one of the best solutions for high-temperature insulation applications like industrial heaters, furnaces, and boilers.
These modules combine the insulation material advantages of ceramic fiber along with rapid furnace installation.
Application
Kiln and heater linings
High-temperature furnace
Reheating furnace
Bell annealing furnaces
Shuttle kilns / Tunnel Kilns
Process heaters lining
Advantages
Individual module mounting enables replacement without
Faster installation
Superior to thermal stability and shock resistance
Reduced shrink compared to layered lining
Ceramic Fibre Boards & Shapes
These blocks and shapes are obtained by vacuum suction of a mixture of ceramic fibers with organic and mineral binders. These are self-supporting with excellent stability at high temperatures, having high resistance to thermal shock, chemical attack and maintain stability at high temperatures.
Advantages
Low heat storage
Excellent insulating performance
Resistance to thermal shock
Excellent thermal stability
Ceramic Fibre Paper
High-performance ceramic paper products are the preferred choice over the traditional fiberglass, textile and metal products for acoustical, thermal, or filtration management.
Application
Expansion Joints
Mould liners
Ladle lining backup
Induction furnace coil protection
Refractory Membrane in Chimneys & Scrubbers
Thermocouple insulation and Packing replacement for asbestos paper
Insulating gaskets
Advantages
Highly flexible & resilient
Good resistance to tearing
Very low thermal conductivity
Non-wetted by most molten nonferrous
Resistance to thermal shock
Uniform thickness & density
Conclusion
Ceramic fiber is a type of lightweight insulating product. It has a low thermal mass that means that it doesn’t retain heat, low thermal conductivity and is an extremely effective insulation material. Their high thermal shock resistance makes them suitable for applications where traditional refractories can’t be used. So-called Refractory Ceramic Fibre is made from high purity alumino-silicate materials. Ceramic fiber is produced by melting these products in an electric arc furnace, which is a stream that is poured and cooled to form the fiber strands from which the ceramic fiber products are then produced.
