Aluminum foil coated fiber, as a new type of thermal insulation material, is mainly based on the weakening of three heat transfer modes: heat conduction, convection and radiation.
In terms of heat conduction, aluminum foil coated fiber extends the heat conduction path through the fiber interlacing structure of ceramic fiber blanket. Ceramic fiber blanket has high porosity, and the contact between fibers is mostly point contact, which increases thermal resistance and effectively weakens the conduction of heat. At the same time, the aluminum foil layer, as a layer of high density material, further prevents the conduction of heat through the fiber blanket.
In terms of convective heat dissipation, the high porosity of ceramic fiber blanket divides the gas into many small pore bins. The pressure in these pore bins is constant, forming a shielding air pressure, hindering the invasion of hot air flow, thereby weakening convective heat dissipation. The high density of aluminum foil directly hinders the convection of gas, further reducing convective heat dissipation.
In terms of radiative heat dissipation, ceramic fiber itself is a white, smooth reflector with good heat reflection effect. The aluminum foil layer has the ability of specular reflection, which can reflect the heat rays back, thus significantly weakening the radiation heat dissipation.
These characteristics of aluminum foil fiber give it significant advantages in the insulation and heat preservation of high-temperature thermal equipment and heating pipes. It can not only effectively reduce heat loss, improve the efficiency and reliability of equipment, but also reduce maintenance costs and extend the life of equipment. Therefore, aluminum foil fiber is widely used in many fields such as petrochemical, metallurgy, and electricity.
