A ceramic fiber blanket is a type of cotton fiber blanket manufactured using pure tiled material at high temperature. It is known by other names such as kaowool, cerawool, ceramet and ferrawool. This kind of material does not use organic adhesives but instead is heat treated so its surface is smooth. This process also provides the blanket its fire-resistant quality as well as great insulation abilities.
Scientifically, a ceramic fiber blanket is synthetic in nature where ceramic fibers are spun together and needled to provide the basic design for this kind of material. Depending on the density of the fiber, a number of designs can be made as the resulting material can provide a range of capabilities other fabrics could not provide.
- High Thermal Capacity. One of the qualities of a ceramic fiber blanket is its high refractory ability. This means the blanket can be used in many high temperature applications providing for insulation as well as heat containment. Thus, ceramic fiber blankets can be found in furnaces, kilns, boilers and melters. Because of its inherent malleability, these are often used as door seals, expansion joint seals and the like.
- Insulation. A ceramic fiber blanket not only is able to absorb heat, it can absorb other harmful matter such as sound and other vibrations. In certain applications, these materials have been used in bullet proofing as well as fire proofing in clothing as well as other objects.
- Inorganic Material. All the material used in a ceramic fiber blanket is inorganic. This means this artificial man made product can be created at any time in any quantity with a design based on the whim of the manufacturer. Once created, it can be reused over and over until the structural design fails.