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Cixi Heungteung Insulation Co., Ltd

Cixi Heungteung Insulation Co., Ltd

Cixi Heungteung Insulation Co., Ltd

How is fiberglass made?
Background
Fiberglass refers to a group of products made from individual glass fibers combined into a variety of forms. Glass fibers can be divided into two major groups according to their geometry: continuous fibers used in yarns and textiles, and the discontinuous (short) fibers used as batts, blankets, or boards for insulation and filtration. Fiberglass can be formed into yarn much like wool or cotton, and woven into fabric which is sometimes used for draperies. Fiberglass textiles are commonly used as a reinforcement material for molded and laminated plastics. Fiberglass wool, a thick, fluffy material made from discontinuous fibers, is used for thermal insulation and sound absorption. It is commonly found in ship and submarine bulkheads and hulls; automobile engine compartments and body panel liners; in furnaces and air conditioning units; acoustical wall and ceiling panels; and architectural partitions. Fiberglass can be tailored for specific applications such as Type E (electrical), used as electrical insulation tape, textiles and reinforcement; Type C (chemical), which has superior acid resistance, and Type T, for thermal insulation.
Though commercial use of glass fiber is relatively recent, artisans created glass strands for decorating goblets and vases during the Renaissance. A French physicist, Rene-Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur, produced textiles decorated with fine glass strands in 1713, and British inventors duplicated the feat in 1822. A British silk weaver made a glass fabric in 1842, and another inventor, Edward Libbey, exhibited a dress woven of glass at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Glass wool, a fluffy mass of discontinuous fiber in random lengths, was first produced in Europe at the turn of the century, using a process that involved drawing fibers from rods horizontally to a revolving drum. Several decades later, a spinning process was developed and patented. Glass fiber insulating material was manufactured in Germany during World War I. Research and development aimed at the industrial production of glass fibers progressed in the United States in the 1930s, under the direction of two major companies, the Owens-Illinois Glass Company and Corning Glass Works. These companies developed a fine, pliable, low-cost glass fiber by drawing molten glass through very fine orifices. In 1938, these two companies merged to form Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. Now simply known as Owens-Corning, it has become a $3-billion-a-year company, and is a leader in the fiberglass market.
Raw Materials
The basic raw materials for fiberglass products are a variety of natural minerals and manufactured chemicals. The major ingredients are silica sand, limestone, and soda ash. Other ingredients may include calcined alumina, borax, feldspar, nepheline syenite, magnesite, and kaolin clay, among others. Silica sand is used as the glass former, and soda ash and limestone help primarily to lower the melting temperature. Other ingredients are used to improve certain properties, such as borax for chemical resistance. Waste glass, also called cullet, is also used as a raw material. The raw materials must be carefully weighed in exact quantities and thoroughly mixed together (called batching) before being melted into glass.
The Manufacturing Process
Melting
Once the batch is prepared, it is fed into a furnace for melting. The furnace may be heated by electricity, fossil fuel, or a combination of the two. Temperature must be precisely controlled to maintain a smooth, steady flow of glass. The molten glass must be kept at a higher temperature (about 2500 F [1371 C]) than other types of glass in order to be formed into fiber. Once the glass becomes molten, it is transferred to the forming equipment via a channel (forehearth) located at the end of the furnace. Forming into fibers
Several different processes are used to form fibers, depending on the type of fiber. Textile fibers may be formed from molten glass directly from the furnace, or the molten glass may be fed first to a machine that forms glass marbles of about 0.62 inch (1.6 cm) in diameter. These marbles allow the glass to be inspected visually for impurities. In both the direct melt and marble melt process, the glass or glass marbles are fed through electrically heated bushings (also called spinnerets). The bushing is made of platinum or metal alloy, with anywhere from 200 to 3,000 very fine orifices. The molten glass passes through the orifices and comes out as fine filaments. Continuous-filament process
A long, continuous fiber can be produced through the continuous-filament process. After the glass flows through the holes in the bushing, multiple strands are caught up on a high-speed winder. The winder revolves at about 2 miles (3 km) a minute, much faster than the rate of flow from the bushings. The tension pulls out the filaments while still molten, forming strands a fracti
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