The Difference Between Heat Insulating Material And Refractory Material

Heay insulating material is a composite material used in the building envelope or thermal equipment to resist the heat transfer. It includes insulation material and cold preservation material.

Heat insulating material can not only maintain the thermal environment of buildings and thermal equipment, but also save energy. Therefore, it is considered as the the fifth largest energy source following the coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. It can efficiently resist the heat transfer. It is mainly used in the insulation of the walls, roof or tubes of buildings and furnaces.

According to the principl, it can be divided into

(1) Porous materials

Its insulation properties rely on the gases with low thermal conductivity in the gaps. Generally air is used as the insulation medium. It always has fibrous tissue accumulation and porous structure. Foam plastic has good insulation properties, followed by mineral fibers (eg asbestos), expanded perlite, porous concrete and foam glass.

(2) Reflective materials

For example, aluminum foil can reduce the thermal radiation heat transfer by reducing reflection. Several layers of aluminum foil or paper can form a omposite structure with a thin layer of air.

The heat insulating material is usually used in the insulation of walls, roof and floor of buildings in the form of loose material, sheet, plate and prefabricated blocks, etc. it can be directly used (such as aerated concrete) or as the core material in the roof and envelope structures or paved into the floor insulation layer. Fibers or granulated insulating material can be filled in walls or sprayed on the walls, for insulation, sound absorption, decoration and fire-resistance.

There are many different types of insulation products, including foam plastic, mineral wool products, foam glass, expanded perlite insulation products, EPS powder particle insulation slurry, spray mineral cotton and foam cement insulation products.

In addition to the thermal conductivity, the water absorption, combustion performance, strength and other indicators of the material should taken into consideration.

Refractory material is a type of inorganic non-metallic material that can withstand high temperature above 1580 ℃. It is widely used in the metallurgy industry, chemical industry, petroleum industry, machinery industry silicates industry, power industry, etc.. It has the largest consumption amount in the metallurgical industry, accounting for 50% to 60% of total output.

The commonly used refractory materials inlcude AZS refractory, corundum brick, directly bonded magnesia-chrome brick, silicon carbide bricks, silicon nitride bonded silicon carbide bricks, nitrides, silicides, sulfides, borides, carbides, calcium oxide, chromium oxide, aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide, and beryllium oxide refractories. Insulation materials incldue diatomite products, asbestos products and heat insulation panels. Monolithic refractories frequently used include fettling material, ramming refractory materials, refractory castable, fire-resistant plastic, refractory clay, gunning refractory, refractory castables, refractory coatings, lightweight refractory castable, stemming etc.