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Types Of Mineral Fibers

There are basically 5 types of mineral fibers-


Asbestos
Fiber Glass
Metallic Fiber
Carbon Fiber
Glass Wool
Rock Wool
ASBESTOS
Introduction
Asbestos is a group of minerals with long, thin fibrous crystals. The
word "asbestos" is derived from a Greek adjective meaning
inextinguishable. The Greeks termed asbestos the "miracle mineral"
because of its soft and pliant properties, as well as its ability to
withstand heat.
Types and Associated Fibers
White, Brown, Blue and other materials.

Production Trends
In 2005, 2.2 million tons of asbestos were mined worldwide. Russia
was the largest producer with about 40% world share followed by
China and Kazakhstan
Uses of Asbestos
– the ancients used asbestos to make perpetual wicks for
Sepulchral or other lamps.
– Asbestos became more widespread during the industrial
revolution, in the 1860s it was used as insulation in the U.S. and
Canada.
– By the mid 20th century uses included fire retardant coatings,
concrete, bricks, pipes and fireplace cement, heat, fire, and acid
resistant gaskets, pipe insulation, ceiling insulation, fireproof
drywall, flooring, roofing, lawn furniture, and drywall joint
compound.
– In Japan, particularly after World War II, asbestos was used in
the manufacture of ammonium sulphate for purposes of rice
production, sprayed upon the ceilings, iron skeletons, and walls
of railroad cars and buildings (during the 1960s), and used for
energy efficiency reasons as well.
Specific Products
Serpentine Group
Amphibole Group
Health Issues
Tumor in animals, a disease called Mesotheliomas, Blue asbestos is
commonly thought of as the most dangerous type of asbestos.
Asbestos exposure becomes a health concern when high
concentrations of asbestos fibers are inhaled over a long time
period. People who become ill from asbestos are almost always
those who are exposed on a day-to-day basis in a job where they
work directly with the material. Other Asbestos related diseases
includes Asbestos Warts, Pleural Plaques and Diffused Plural
Thickening.
Fiber Glass
Introduction
Fibreglass (also called fibreglass and glass fibre) is
material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used
as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products; the resulting
composite material, properly known as fibre-reinforced polymer
(FRP) or glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), is called "fibreglass" in
popular usage.
Formation
– Glass fibre is formed when thin strands of silica-based or other
formulation glass is extruded into many fibers with small
diameters suitable for textile processing.
– The technique of heating and drawing glass into fine fibers has
been known for millennia; however, the use of these fibers for
textile applications is more recent.
Properties
– Glass fibers are useful because of their high ratio of surface area
to weight.
– good thermal insulation, with a thermal conductivity of 0.05 W/m-
K.
– the increased surface area makes them much more susceptible
to chemical attack.
– The freshest, thinnest fibers are the strongest because the
thinner fibers are more ductile.
Manufacturing Process
– Melting
– Formation
– Continuous Filament Process
– Staple Fiber Process
Uses
End uses for regular fibre glass are mats, insulation, reinforcement,
sound absorption, heat resistant fabrics, corrosion resistant fabrics
and high strength fabrics. Fibre glass is also the main source of
material used by the modern automobile industry.
Metallic Fiber

Introduction
Metallic fibers are manufactured fibers composed of metal, plastic-
coated metal, metal-coated plastic, or a core completely covered by
metal .Gold and silver have been used since ancient times as yarns
for fabric decoration.
History
Historically, the metallic thread was constructed by wrapping a metal
strip around a fiber core (cotton or silk), often in such a way as to
reveal the color of the fiber core to enhance visual quality of the
decoration. Ancient textiles and clothing woven from wholly or partly
gold threads is sometimes referred to as Cloth of Gold.
Fiber Properties
Coated metallic filaments help to minimize tarnishing.
When suitable adhesives and films are used, they are
not affected by salt water, chlorinated water in swimming
pools or climatic conditions. If possible anything made
with metallic fibers should be dry-cleaned, if there is no
care label.
Production Method
There are two basic processes that are used in manufacturing
metallic fibers.
– Laminating process, which seals a layer of aluminum between two
layers of acetate or polyester film.
– Metalizing process, which involves heating the metal until it vaporizes
then depositing it at a high pressure onto the polyester film.

Uses
The most common uses for metallic fibers is upholstery fabric and
textiles such as lamé and brocade. Many people
also use metallic fibers in weaving and needlepoint.
More commonly today you can find metaillic fibers
in clothing, anything from party and evening wear
to club clothing, cold weather and survival clothing
and everyday wear.
Carbon Fibres
Introduction
Carbon fibre or carbon fibre (also sometimes called graphite
fibre) is a material consisting of long thin sheets of graphite-like
carbon, packed to form a fibre. It has the highest specific tensile
strength of all the reinforced materials (composite materials), and it
has a high strength to weight ratio and low coefficient of thermal
expansion. The density of carbon fibre is also much much lower
than the density of steel. Carbon fibre takes the form of several
thousand long, thin strands of material which are mostly composed
of carbon atoms.
History Of Carbon Fibres
In 1958, Dr. Roger Bacon created the first high performance carbon
fibres at the Parma Technical Centre outside of Cleveland, OH.
Bacon's carbon fibres were mainly graphite whiskers that were
sheets of graphite rolled into scrolls; they contained graphite sheets
that were continuous over the entire length of the graphite filament.
Structure and Properties
– The atomic structure of carbon fibre is similar to that of graphite,
consisting of sheets of carbon atoms (graphene sheets) arranged in a
regular hexagonal pattern.
– The difference lies in the way these sheets interlock. Graphite is a
crystalline material in which the sheets are stacked parallel to one
another in regular fashion.
– The chemical bonds between the sheets are relatively weak Van der
Waals forces, giving graphite its soft and brittle characteristics.
– Depending upon the precursor to make the fibre, carbon fibre may be
turbostratic or graphitic, or have a hybrid structure with both graphitic
and turbostratic parts present.
– In turbostratic carbon fibre the sheets of carbon atoms are haphazardly
folded, or crumpled, together.
Synthesis
– A common method of making carbon filaments is the oxidation and
thermal pyrolysis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN), a polymer based on
acrylonitrile used in the creation of synthetic materials.
– Like all polymers, polyacrylonitrile molecules are long chains, which are
aligned in the process of drawing continuous filaments.
Applications
– Carbon fibre is most notably used to reinforce composite materials,
particularly the class of materials known as Carbon fibre or graphite
reinforced polymers.
– Another utilization of Carbon Fibre is its added aesthetic value to
various consumer products.
– Carbon Fibre as a tough and lightweight material is applied in the
production of watch cases and dials.
– Non-polymer materials can also be used as the matrix for carbon fibres.
Glass Wool
Introduction
Glass wool is similar to steel wool. It is simply very thin strings of
glass arranged into a spongy texture. Glass wool is used widely as
an insulating material.
Manufacturing process
– After the fusion of a mixture of natural sand and recycled glass
at 1,450 °C, the glass that is produced is converted into fibers.
– The cohesion and mechanical strength of the product is obtained
by the presence of a binder that “cements” the fibers together.
– Ideally, a drop of bonder is placed at each fibre intersection.
– This fibre mat is then heated to around 200 °C (to polymerize the
resin), and is calendared to give it strength and stability.
– The final stage involves cutting the wool and packing it in rolls or
panels under very high pressure before palletizing the finished
product in order to facilitate transport and storage.
Side-Effect
A 2002 summary by International Agency for Research on Cancer
puts insulation glass wool into Category 3 carcinogen, "not
classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans". The summary found
"inadequate evidence" of glass wool causing cancer in humans and
"limited evidence" of it causing cancer in experimental animals. Two
unspecified "large" studies reviewed in the summary showed
"increased mortality" (6% in the "US cohort study") from respiratory
cancer in workers exposed to glass wool production. The longevity
of exposure did not affect mortality. Smoking habits were not
factored out. Non-occupational indoor settings were found to contain
"much lower" fibres per volume unit.
Rock Wool
Introduction
Rock wool is an amorphous silicate manufactured from rock.
Mineral wool means fibres made from minerals or metal oxides, be
they synthetic or natural. In industry use, MMMF (man-made-
mineral-fibres) generally refer to synthetic materials. This includes
fibreglass, ceramic fibres and rock wool, also known as stone
wool.
Manufacturing
Stone wool is a furnace product of molten stone, at a temperature of
about 1600 °C, through which is blown a stream of air or steam.
More high tech production techniques are based on spinning molten
rock (lava) on high speed spinning wheels (compare with candy
floss). The final product is a mass of fine, intertwined fibers with a
typical diameter of 6 to 10 micrometres. Mineral wool may contain a
binder, often food grade starch, and an oil to reduce dusting.
Uses
 The fibres themselves are excellent conductors of heat but they
package air so well, that when pressed into rolls and sheets,
rockwool makes for an excellent and reliable insulator.
 They make common components in passive fire protection systems,
such as in spray fireproofing, stud cavities in drywall assemblies
required to have a fire-resistance rating, packing materials in
firestops and more.
 Mineral wools are unattractive to rodents but will provide a structure
for bacterial growth if allowed to become wet.
 Other uses are in resin bonded panels growth medium in
hydroponics, filler in compounds for gaskets, brake pads, in plastics
in the automotive industry and as a filtering medium.

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