ALF™, continuous alumina silica fibers, have been widely used in the steel industry, especially in C.A.P.L.(Continuous annealing and processing line) and G.A.P.L(Galvanizing annealing and processing line), where temperatures are about 1100°C. ALF is used in these applications for several years.
For the primary insulation of those furnaces ceramic fiber blocks are used as very important parts, because of their superior insulation properties. A key problem of this usage is the dust coming from ceramic fiber blocks. In order to solve the dust problem the fiber blocks must be covered to stop particles getting in the production process to avoid inferior steel products.
Until recently, stainless steel plates have been used for this purpose. However, these metal plates are not having a good heat resistance compared to ceramics. Those stainless steel plates create a lot of problems because of their large thermal expansion which causes distorting, rusting and heat damage during long term use.
For these reasons we have started to replace stainless steel plates by using ALF woven fabrics a decade ago. This change has become a great success, which has resulted in superior production, lower maintenance and higher quality products.
We have applied ALF for existing and new C.A.P.L and G.A.P.L furnaces all over the world.