If you have never heard of silicone-coated fiberglass fabric, you are on the right page. In this article, we are going to introduce this type of fabric. First of all, it's important to note that the fabric is an ideal choice for different applications because of the special properties it contains. Therefore, it's strong and thick like fiberglass. Read on to find out more.
The good news is that you can use silicone cloth for weatherproof jacketing, welding splatter protection, fire blankets, and heat-resistant clothing, just to name a few. Apart from this, it may also be used for other applications, such as expansion joints, bellows, baking trays, and conveyor belts, to name a few.
Basically, silicone refers to a unique polymer of Oxygen (O2) and Silicone (Si) atoms. Apart from this, it features organic grouping, which gives them the properties explained below:
Elasticity: When it comes to elasticity, silicone fabric may offer as much as 100% fraction strain. So, it is one of the best choices as far as elasticity is concerned.
Hydrophobicity: Another great feature of the silicone-coated fiberglass cloth is that it is water-resistant, which means it won't get wet when exposed to water. This is one of the main reasons it's an ideal choice for a variety of applications.
Temperature Resistance: Another great thing about this material is that it may help withstand extreme temperatures. According to experts, it can withstand temperatures that fall between -45 degrees and 250 degrees. Therefore, you can depend on it in an environment where the temperature goes to extremes.
Inherent Flame Resistance: The auto-ignition temperature of the fabric is 430 degrees, which is why it's one of the best choices in this department as well. This is another reason the fabric is used in a lot of industries where the temperature is a big problem to deal with.
Chemical Resistance: The beauty of silicone-coated fabric is that it can resist organic chemicals, dilute acids, hydrocarbons, esters, ketones, and a lot of other stuff. Therefore, you can use the product without any worries.
UV Resistant: The good thing about silicone is that it may resist sun rays, which is why it's one of the best choices for outdoor jacketing.
Electrical Insulation and Bio-compatibility
Food Grade: If you are looking for a variant that's food contact grade, you can go for silicone-coated fiberglass.
On fiberglass, silicone coating can be performed in two ways: calendaring and knife coating. Let's find out more about both of these.
Knife Coating: Generally, it's used for lower coating weights in a place where silicone encapsulates the fabric and gives softer fabric that has lower thickness.
Calendaring: in this case, dry silicone tends to be laminated on fiberglass to give high coating weight and high strength. The thickness can be up to 5mm.
In short, this was an introduction to silicone-based fiberglass fabric. Hopefully, now you will have a much better understanding of the benefits of this type of fabric.
