Jump to content

Extreme high temperature insulation materials


Ironroundhouse01

Recommended Posts

Hi guys, i'm looking for a material that can withstand and reflect extremely high temperatures.  These temperatures are along the lines of thousands of degrees Celsius, the kind of temperatures one would see if you measured the heat four to five inches away from a ball of hydrogen plasma, just wanted to know if anyone had any ideas on the subject

Edited by Ironroundhouse01
change of diction
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ablative shields such as on the Apollo command modules worked perfectly.

The tiles on the shuttle worked well without ablating but were very fragile.

Anything more specific requires more info from you. I'm not an engineer so can't help you further.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Carrock said, we’d need more details. Is  active cooling an option? Shooting in the dark here but materials capable of doing a decent job in such extreme temperatures will cost you plenty plus most probably nothing passive will work for prolonged periods of time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_points_of_the_elements_(data_page) gives melting temperatures of the elements. Graphite appears to be highest (near 4000C) with tungsten next.

Quote

http://www.asminternational.org/web/cmdnetwork/home/-/journal_content/56/10180/25655039/NEWS

Computations show that a material made with just the right amounts of hafnium, nitrogen, and carbon would have a melting point of more than 4400 K (7460°F). That's about two-thirds the temperature at the surface of the sun and 200 K higher than the highest melting point ever recorded experimentally

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What you need is material with high thermal conductivity and after transport of heat outside of device, efficient way to cool it down f.e. large tank of liquid which will be absorbing energy.

Surface that has direct contact with plasma won't melt, if it's all the time cooled down from outside.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To create plasma there is needed: extremely high pressure from gravitation of star, extremely high pressure caused by magnetic field from superconducting electromagnets, or high voltage (at least few thousands of volts)..

I assume you want to make plasma using the last method (f.e. Van de Graaff generator, Cockcroft-Walton generator) , as it's only sensible for ordinary mortal.. ?

Temperature is not big problem in this case. High voltage, high current, could pass through gloves killing person, or causing electrical shock.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Sensei said:

To create plasma there is needed: extremely high pressure from gravitation of star, extremely high pressure caused by magnetic field from superconducting electromagnets, or high voltage (at least few thousands of volts)..

Or you can use a candle flame.
If you want to do it electrically you will need an arc welder- typically rated for about 40 volts.

It's plasma, not "magic".

Which incidentally explains why the OP doesn't make much sense.

 

Edited by John Cuthber
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When estimating which material withstands a high temperature, the main property is its vapour pressure, not its melting point, because refractory materials use to evaporate too quickly rather than melt. This limits to some 3000K with tungsten, and quite a bit less with the best ceramics despite their higher melting point.

Unless air or some gas is present, in which case corrosion (or call it oxidation or whatever you want) is often a much harder limit, and other materials like tantalum may be less bad then. Ar, Kr, Xe, halogens like in light bulbs put no further limit, but air does.

So: what plasma temperature? Is active cooling possible? And so on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No material withstands 8500°C. Either the plasma radiates little enough, is far enough, has a density small enough... and the walls have naturally a much lower temperature, or you'll have to cool the walls actively, whether you like it or not.

Then, you must check if the plasma remain so hot despite the contact with the walls.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.