Thermal Insulation Properties of Ceramovermiculite and Ceramoperlite Materials Containing a Wollastonite Binder at High Temperature

Abstract

High-temperature insulation materials are used extensively in civil engineering as flame retardant materials, as well as in numerous industrial sectors. The raw materials used in the production of these materials include rocks and industrial waste. The article substantiates the feasibility of using ceramovermiculite and ceramoperlite materials containing a wollastonite binder as high-temperature insulation. The materials were obtained through the firing of a charge containing chalk, diatomite, and a heat-resistant filler (expanded perlite or expanded vermiculite). The material of the fired samples with expanded vermiculite is primarily composed of the crystalline phase of wollastonite and biotite, with a minor amount of quartz and akermanite-gehlenite. The use of expanded perlite as a heat-resistant filler results in the presence of a low amount of plagioclases in addition to the crystalline phase of wollastonite in fired samples, along with an amorphous phase. The physicomechanical properties of the charge and the fired samples were determined, and the effect of the apparent density and phase composition of the developed materials on the variation in their thermal insulation properties at high temperatures was studied. The thermal insulation properties of the materials were determined by supplying heat flow from the heating chamber of the muffle furnace to one side of the sample. The samples from the developed materials exhibited apparent densities ranging from 375 to 630 kg/m³ and compressive strengths between 0.95 and 3.25 MPa. The developed ceramoperlite materials containing wollastonite binder can be used as high-temperature thermal insulation up to +900°C, while ceramovermiculite can be used up to +1050°C. According to a range of physicomechanical and thermophysical properties, the materials obtained are comparable to or exceed the performance of known analogs.