A castable refractory composition may include from 5% to 95% by weight of alumina, aluminosilicate, or mixtures thereof; from 0.5% to 1.5% by weight alkaline earth metal oxide and/or hydroxide, and 0.1% to 5% by weight of silica having a surface area of at least about 10 m.sup.2/g. The refractory composition may include no more than 0.5% by weight of cementitious binder. The refractory composition may release less than 25 cm.sup.3 of hydrogen gas per kilogram of castable refractory composition upon addition of water. The refractory compositions may set on addition of water.

Disclosed is a method of making a high temperature fiber including incorporating an inorganic atom into a polymer precursor fiber to form a modified polymer precursor fiber and converting the modified polymer precursor fiber to a high temperature fiber having a bonded inorganic atom.

A method for forming a ceramic aerogel includes contacting a ceramic precursor, an additive, an anionic surfactant, a cationic surfactant, and a catalyst to form a mixture. The catalyst may include an acid or a base. The method further includes heating the mixture to form a precursor gel, mixing fibers with the precursor gel, and drying the resultant fiber containing precursor gel.

A friction material including two or more kinds of titanates and a ceramic fiber. The friction material includes no copper component. The two or more kinds of titanates may optionally include two or more kinds of alkali metal titanates, or the two or more kinds of titanates may optionally include an alkaline earth metal-alkali metal titanate and an alkali metal titanate.

The present invention relates to a preparation method of a porous ceramic, the porous ceramic, and a use thereof in the electronic cigarette. The method of preparing a porous ceramic includes: mixing amorphous silica, aluminum oxide and iron oxide uniformly to obtain a mixture; sintering the mixture at a temperature of 1000 C. to 1400 C. for 0.5 hour to 3 hours to obtain a precursor; grinding the precursor to obtain precursor powder; mixing the precursor powder, sodium silicate, and porogen uniformly to obtain a premix; mixing and extruding the premix with water to obtain a molded body; and heat preserving the molded body at a temperature of 200 C. to 600 C. for 1 hour to 6 hours, and sintering the molded body at a temperature of 700 C. to 1200 C. for 0.5 hour to 3 hours to obtain the porous ceramic.

Insulation materials have a coating of a partially cured polymer on a plurality of fibers, and the plurality of coated fibers in a cross-linked polymeric matrix. Insulation may be formed by applying a preceramic polymer to a plurality of fibers, heating the preceramic polymer to form a partially cured polymer over at least portions of the plurality of fibers, disposing the plurality of fibers in a polymeric material, and curing the polymeric material. A rocket motor may be formed by disposing a plurality of coated fibers in an insulation precursor, curing the insulation precursor to form an insulation material without sintering the partially cured polymer, and providing an energetic material over the polymeric material. An article includes an insulation material over at least one surface.

Natural materials often boast unusual combinations of stiffness, strength and toughness currently unmatched by today's engineering materials. Beneficially, according to the embodiments of the invention, these unusual combinations can be introduced into ceramics, glasses, and crystal materials, for example by the introduction of patterns of weaker interfaces with simple or intricate architectures. Two-dimensional surface modifications and three-dimensional arrays of effects within these materials allow for the deformation of these materials for increased flexure, impact resistance, etc. Further, the addition of interlocking substrate blocks in isolation or with additional flexible materials provide for improved energy dissipation and toughening. Such modified materials, based on carefully architectured interfaces, provide a new pathway to toughening hard and brittle materials.

The invention described is a reinforced refractory fire containment wall panel, the panel cast from a reinforced refractory composition. The refractory composition contains cement, a binder, a matrix material comprising 300 series stainless steel fibers and organic fibers, and a refractory aggregate comprising aluminum oxide, calcium oxide, iron oxide and silicon dioxide or a combination thereof, and a reinforcing material. The invention also describes methods of making the reinforced refractory fire containment wall panel.

Insulation materials have a coating of a partially cured polymer on a plurality of fibers, and the plurality of coated fibers in a cross-linked polymeric matrix. Insulation may be formed by applying a preceramic polymer to a plurality of fibers, heating the preceramic polymer to form a partially cured polymer over at least portions of the plurality of fibers, disposing the plurality of fibers in a polymeric material, and curing the polymeric material. A rocket motor may be formed by disposing a plurality of coated fibers in an insulation precursor, curing the insulation precursor to form an insulation material without sintering the partially cured polymer, and providing an energetic material over the polymeric material. An article includes an insulation material over at least one surface.

A carbon fiber preform that includes a plurality of fibrous layers stacked together and a plurality of sacrificial fibers that bind the plurality of fibrous layers together, where at least one fibrous layer of the plurality of fibrous layers includes a plurality of carbon fibers or carbon fiber precursor fibers.