What is ceramic fiber?

Ceramic fiber is a fibrous, lightweight refractory material that boasts numerous advantages, including light weight, high‑temperature resistance, excellent thermal stability, low thermal conductivity, low specific heat, and resistance to mechanical vibration. Consequently, it has found widespread application across industries such as machinery, metallurgy, chemical processing, petroleum, ceramics, glass, and electronics. In recent years, with the continuous rise in global energy prices, energy conservation has become a national strategic priority in China. Against this backdrop, ceramic fiber—capable of delivering energy savings of 10–30% compared with traditional refractories like insulating bricks and castables—has seen increasingly broad adoption within the Chinese market, with highly promising prospects for future development.
Ceramic fiber is manufactured using a double-sided needling process and is widely employed in both high‑temperature and low‑temperature environments. Based on differences in production methods, ceramic fiber blankets are generally classified into two types: spun‑fiber blankets and blown‑fiber blankets.
1. Fiber diameter: Spun fibers are generally thicker, typically ranging from 3.0 to 5.0 microns, whereas melt-blown fibers usually measure 2.0 to 3.0 microns.
2. Fiber filament length: Spun fibers are generally longer, typically ranging from 150 to 250 mm, whereas melt-spun fibers usually measure 100 to 200 mm.
3. Thermal conductivity: Spunbonded nonwovens outperform spunlace nonwovens due to their finer fibers;
4. Tensile and flexural strength: Due to its thicker fibers, spun-bonded nonwoven fabric outperforms meltblown nonwoven fabric.
5. Applications in the fabrication of ceramic fiber modules: Spun‑fiber blankets, with their thicker and longer fibers, outperform spun‑bonded blankets. During the folding process used to form modules, spun‑bonded fiber blankets tend to crumble and tear easily, whereas spun‑fiber blankets can be folded very tightly without sustaining damage. The quality of the resulting module directly affects the overall quality of the furnace lining.
6. Vertical-layer installation of large‑size blankets, such as those used in waste‑heat boilers: Due to its thicker and longer fibers, spun‑bonded blanket exhibits superior tensile strength and greater durability, making it preferable to spun‑bonded nonwoven blanket.
Purpose:
1. Sealing of furnace doors and curtain seals at the furnace opening for various insulated industrial kilns.
2. Linings for high-temperature flues and ducts, as well as expansion joints.
3. High-temperature thermal insulation and heat preservation for petrochemical equipment, vessels, and pipelines.
4. Protective clothing, gloves, hoods, helmets, boots, and other gear for high-temperature environments.
5. Thermal shields for automobile engines, insulation wraps for heavy‑oil engine exhaust pipes, and composite brake friction linings for high‑speed racing cars.
6. Sealing packing and gaskets for pumps, compressors, and valves used to convey high-temperature liquids and gases.
7. High-temperature electrical insulation.
8. Fire doors, fire curtains, fire blankets, spark‑catching mats, and thermal insulation covers—fire‑seal products.
9. Thermal insulation and heat‑preserving materials, as well as brake friction linings, used in the aerospace and aviation industries.
10. Thermal insulation and wrapping for cryogenic equipment, vessels, and pipelines.
11. Thermal insulation and fire-resistant partitions, as well as automatic fire‑proof curtains, for critical areas such as archive rooms, vaults, and safes in high‑end office buildings.
Features:
It is lightweight, exhibits excellent thermal insulation, good thermal stability, and superior chemical stability; it is easy to process and convenient to install. However, it is neither wear‑resistant nor impact‑resistant, cannot withstand the erosion of high‑velocity gas flows, and is susceptible to slag corrosion.