For thousands of years, humans have used fire to melt and heat treat metals.
In order to ensure the safe use of fire, special refractory materials are required to treat liquid or hot metals for melting and processing metals (bronze, iron). In order to meet the needs of a wide range of applications, a large number of forming, dense materials (refractory bricks, clinker), profiled insulation materials (light refractory bricks) and amorphous refractories (heavy and light ramming mixes) have been developed for special applications. High temperature applications.
However, for decades, other man-made materials have been used for insulation, and ceramic fiber blankets and rock wool are used in the low temperature range (about 200 ° C up to 500 ° C).
In the 1960s, aluminosilicate-based “refractory ceramic fibers” were introduced on the European market.
Due to their high temperature resistance and good technical properties (ie good thermal shock resistance and low thermal conductivity), they quickly became a reference for industrial high temperature insulation.
Due to the development of new material types, Germany renamed the nomenclature of high temperature insulating wool in the late 1990s.
Although the terms “ceramic fiber” or “refractory ceramic fiber” are now commonly used, it is inaccurate in terms of the materials available, their specific properties and limitations.
