GB2261935A

GB2261935A - Thermally insulating member e.g. for pipe insulation for re-heat furnaces

Info

Publication number: GB2261935A
Application number: GB9224156A
Authority: GB
Inventors: George Edward Henry Leaver
Original assignee: Urquhart Engineering Co Ltd
Current assignee: Urquhart Engineering Co Ltd
Priority date: 1991-11-19
Filing date: 1992-11-18
Publication date: 1993-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 2012-11-18
Also published as: GB9224156D0; GB2261935B; GB9124537D0

Abstract

A thermally insulating member, e.g. for pipe insulation for re-heat furnaces, comprises a metal mesh reinforcement formed from interengaging metal coils (11), a fibrous heat-insulating material (12) extending through the coils, metal coils (13) interengaged with the coils (11) at one face (14) of the reinforcement and arranged to project from said face, and a refractory insulating material (15) in which the parts of the coils (13) projecting from said face are embedded. <IMAGE>

Description

THERMALLY INSULATING MEMBERS This invention relates to thermally insulating members, and has an important but not exclusive application in pipe insulation for reheat furnaces.

According to the invention in one aspect there is provided a thermally insulating member comprising a looped metal mesh reinforcement, a fibrous insulating material interwoven with mesh loops of the mesh reinforcement, metal linking elements interwoven with the mesh reinforcement at one face of said reinforcement and projecting from said face, and a refractory insulating material in which the projecting parts of the linking elements are embedded.

In preferred constructions according to the invention, said metal linking elements comprise coiled wire the coils of which extend parallel to said face of the mesh reinforcement. Preferably the linking elements are pressed in an outward direction so as to project from said face by the fibrous insulating material.

According to a preferred feature of the invention, the metal mesh reinforcement comprises interlinked coils of wire the coils of which are of generally rectangular form when viewed endwise of the coil. The coils may however be of other form. The fibrous insulating material may then conveniently be in the form of one or more flat layers extending internally along the coils of the mesh reinforcement.

According to the invention in another aspect, there is provided a method of making a thermally insulating member comprising the steps of threading strips of fibrous heat insulating material through the mesh loops of a looped metal mesh reinforcement so that the mesh loops are substantially filled with said insulating material, threading metal wire material through the said mesh loops at one face of the mesh reinforcement which metal wire material projects away from said one face, and casting a dense refractory insulating material over the said face of the mesh reinforcement and the projecting portions of the metal wire material whereby said projecting portions are embedded in the refractory insulating material and serve to anchor the refractory insulating material to said mesh reinforcement.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference by way of example to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates a fragment of a thermally insulating member according to the invention in an intermediate stage of manufacture, and Figure 2 is a section fragmentary view in the direction of the arrow Z of Figure 1 of the completed member.

Referring to the drawings a metal mesh reinforcement member 10 comprises interlinked parallel coils 11 of stainless steel wire. Viewed endwise the coil is of generally rectangular form as shown in Figure 2, and flat strips 12 of fibrous heat insulating material, three in number in the illustrated construction but not confined to this number, extend through each coil 11 of the mesh, substantially filling the coils. Linking coils 13 of stainless steel wire are then threaded through the coils 12 at one face 14 of the mesh. The strips 12 press the coils 13 outward so that the coils 13 project away from the face 14. A layer of a refractory insulating material 15 is then cast on the face 14 so that the linking coils 13 are embedded in the material and serve to anchor the material to the mesh 10.

The resulting insulating member thus has a main heat insulating layer provided by the fibrous insulating material 12 filling the mesh coils 11, which maintain the integrity of the layer, and a structural and thermal insulating layer provided by the cast refractory material 15 and securely anchored to the mesh by the linking coils 13.

When disposed about cooling water pipes in a furnace, an insulating member as described has been found to be highly effective in preventing heat loss to the pipes and water-cooled surfaces of other components.

In one example, the coils 11 are made from 11 SWG stainless steel wire of 5 cm (2 inch) pitch providing a central opening 3.8 cm (1 inch) wide by 2.38 cm (15/16 inch) deep. The coils 13 are made from 11 SWG stainless steel wire of 5 cm (2 inch) pitch providing a central opening 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide by 1.26 cm (i inch) deep. The material 12 is a fibrous insulating material sold under the trade name Cerafelt and the refractory material 15 is a material sold under the trade name Stein 1600.

Claims

1. A thermally insulating member comprising a looped metal mesh reinforcement, a fibrous insulating material interwoven with mesh loops of the mesh reinforcement, metal linking elements interwoven with the mesh reinforcement at one face of said reinforcement and projecting from said face, and a refractory insulating material in which the projecting parts of the linking elements are embedded.

2. A thermally insulating member as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said metal linking elements comprise coiled wire the coils of which extend parallel to said face of the mesh reinforcement.

3. A thermally insulating member as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the linking elements are pressed in an outward direction so as to project from said face by the fibrous insulating material.

4. A thermally insulating member as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the metal mesh reinforcement comprises interlinked coils of wire the coils of which are of generally rectangular form when viewed endwise of the coil.

5. A thermally insulating member as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fibrous insulating material is in the form of one or more flat layers extending internally along the coils of the mesh reinforcement.

6. A method of making a thermally insulating member comprising the steps of threading strips of fibrous heat insulating material through the mesh loops of a looped metal mesh reinforcement so that the mesh loops are substantially filled with said insulating material, threading metal wire material through the said mesh loops at one face of the mesh reinf#rcement which metal wire material projects away from said one face, and casting a dense refractory insulating material over the said face of the mesh reinforcement and the projecting portions of the metal wire material whereby said projecting portions are embedded in the refractory insulating material and serve to anchor the refractory insulating material to said mesh reinforcement.

7. A thermally insulating member substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.