What is Thermal Insulation and where it is applied? What are the materials that are used for?

 

Thermal Insulation is insulating a hot vessel, hot tank or a steam pipe line, to reduce the heat energy wastage due to conduction and convection process. The process is basically arresting the heat escaping from the units, thereby serving the energy / fuel consumption. This vessels or tanks use Furnace Oil or Diesel to produce the heat energy and the fluid (air or liquid) is that has been stored inside it.  When it is thermally insulated, the fuel consumption (Furnace Oil or Diesel) is reduced, further retains the heat energy for a longer time by conserving the energy. 

Where it is applied?

Heat energy is used as a primary source of energy in most of the Industries and even domestic application’s. The heat energy is generated by Boilers or Furnaces in Industries and by Gas or Fore Wood stove in Domestic applications. The Boilers are used in converting water into steam energy and furnaces are used to produce high degree of heat energy for metal melting applications.

These Boilers and Furnaces serving in many sectors like Dyeing Units,  Food Processing units, Oil Mills, Rice Mills, Sugar Plants, Nuclear and Atomic Power plants, Tea Industries, Cement Industries, Aroma Industries, Breweries, Leather Industries, Laundry Industry, Chemical Industry, Food Preserving Industry, Cold Storage Units, Dairy Plants, Coffee Manufacturers, Confectionery manufacturer, Electronic Industry, Powder Coating Industry, Textile Manufacturing Units, Green Energy Industries, Hotel Industry and much more..,

Furnaces widely used in Auto Component Manufacturing units, bearing manufacturers, Utensils manufacturers, Steel Rolling Mills, TMT Manufacturers, Wrought Iron manufacturing units, Water Pump manufacturing Industry, Rice Mills, Waste Disposal Units, Plastic Manufacturing Industry, Glass manufacturing Industry, Lock Manufacturers, Fasteners Manufacturer, Steel Tubes and Pipe manufacturer, Steel Component Manufacturer, Spare Parts manufacturer, Forging Industries, Ingot Manufacturers, MS Profile manufacturer, Aluminium Profile manufacturers, Aluminium Rolling mills, Brass Component manufacturers, Jewelers  Manufacturer, Brick manufacturers, Plywood Industries, Tools Manufacturers, Cable manufacturer, Ceramic Industries, recycling plants and much more..,

What is the material?

For Thermal Insulation application, the material that provides insulation often termed as Glass Fiber materials. These materials are extruded from the molten glass as fibers and are processed (Spun and Bundled) into sheets or slabs. These are typically low density materials and are meant low temperature applications. The application is of domestic in nature like water heaters or fire wood cooking stoves.

For medium temperature applications, materials like Basalt rock fibers are used, which are typically medium density materials. It find it applications in Owen manufacturing, Dryer manufacturing, Storage Tanks, Vessels and ESP’s.

For Higher density applications, materials like Aluminate wool or Zirconium wool are used, which are typically applied in Hot Kilns, Ladles and direct heat applications. The nature of material is typically higher density materials and is accountable for higher thermal conservation.

For Furnace application the material is basically categorized as Refractory. The refractory is further classified into Ceramic Refractory, Alumina refractory, Cordierite Refractory and Castable refractory. The Ceramic or Alumina refractory are medium temperature applications, which are typically ranging from 800 deg C to 1600 deg C and are applied in Furnace walls or Doors. The raw materials are basically extracted from rare earth minerals and ores which are processed and formed into definite shapes, to conserve heat energy.

The Cordierite refractory are high temperature applications which are typically ranging from 1200 deg C to 1700 or even 2200 deg C, and are mostly termed as special shaped refractory as the shape are custom made in forms of Tubes, Filters or Cones. They are given customized shape catering to the application. The castable refractories are available in grains form and could be casted into definite shape. This is an on – situ application and widely applied in Furnace doors, Non regular shape casting.  These are typically high temperature and higher mechanical strength applications, with temperature ranging from 1600 deg C to 2200 deg C.

So, these Insulation and Refractory are mandate element for the industries which uses heat as their primary source of production. These are bio degradable materials are decomposable. The operational life time varies from materials to materials and specifications. The materials are approved by Bureau of Indian Standards and have provided detailed criteria for the specification and characteristic of the materials. The custom made materials are available in different forms thus making the application smoother.

Conclusion: Is the article is of something that is new to you and plan for an application of the same? Do you have any query regarding application or selection of material? Please feel free to contact us by email or message. If you find this article as useful, please share to your network under your own discretion.