Comparative investigation of creep behavior of ceramic fiber-reinforced alumina and silica aerogel

Ambient and high temperature creep experiments at constant stresses of 0.05 MPa and 0.2 MPa were conducted on a ceramic fiber-reinforced alumina aerogel. Experimental results show that at low temperature (below 300 °C), there is no significant creep phenomenon at low stress level (0.05 MPa), but time-dependent creep deformation is found at high stress level (0.2 MPa) for the material. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis was also conducted to understand the micro mechanism of the creep behavior. Crack initiation and propagation in matrix are the key factors that change the creep property. Comparative investigation of creep properties was also carried out between ceramic fiber-reinforced alumina and silica aerogel. Finally the application prospect of the two composites was discussed. The result shows that alumina aerogel has excellent creep resistance, thermal stability and heat insulation properties at high temperature (above 800 °C), and it has a good application prospect in high temperature insulation fields, while the ceramic fiber-reinforced silica aerogel, limited by the sintering and poor creep resistance under high temperature, is more suitable for low temperature (below 600 °C) insulation field.