Fiberstone:
Materially different

Fiberstone is a proprietary pre-cast ceramic-steel composite combining a purpose-formulated ceramic matrix with a high-volume stainless steel fibre network.

Engineered as a transition material, Fiberstone utilises a fully isotropic, dense composite material in which the ceramic phase provides refractoriness, chemical resistance and hardness, while the interlocking metallic fibre network provides toughness, strength and crack-arrest capability.

Unlike conventional low-volume fibre-reinforced castables, Fiberstone delivers significantly higher fibre loading capabilities — delivering fracture toughness and flexural strength that approach metallic levels whilst retaining the refractoriness of a ceramic.

Through the innovative use of a high-volume fibre matrix within a ceramic-slurry, the brittleness that is the primary cause of refractory failure is mitigated through a dual toughening mechanism:

• Fibre pull-out: fibres debond from the ceramic matrix and are progressively extracted, absorbing energy over a large crack opening displacement
• Fibre plastic deformation: fibres bridging the crack plane deform plastically before fracture, consuming significant energy.

Fiberstone reaches a peak load approximately 3.5 times greater than a castable with 4% stainless steel fibre addition and sustains load over a deflection of 5 mm — compared with near-instantaneous failure in conventional castables.

Fiberstone is a proprietary blend that utilises a high-alumina (tabular alumina) formula, incorporating minerals and/or synthetics , which has been developed to ensure:

• Exceptional toughness and wear resistance
• Thermal shock resistance
• Thermal conductivity
• Chemical stability in oxidising and reducing atmospheres

Fiberstone uses a chemically neutral ceramic-slurry that is resistant to both acidic and basic slags. For the most aggressive chemical environments — including chlorine-bearing, reducing or mixed gas atmospheres — the ceramic slurry provides exceptional performance.

Enhanced wear resistance is delivered through the high-alumina tabular alumina ceramic-steel composite matrix, which ensures  significant hardness and abrasion resistance.

Controlling the particle size distribution of the ceramic constituent further optimises wear performance.

The continuous fibre network acts to  reduce spalling under abrasive loading, and therefore extending component life.

Fiberstone exclusively uses Fibrex fibres supplied by Fibretech, as the market-leading fibre supplier for consistency of quality and performance reliability.

The high-volume interlocking metallic fibre network provides toughness, crack-arrest capability, and delivers fracture toughness and flexural strength that approach metallic levels, and the enhanced strength-to-modulus ratio requires a much larger temperature differential before thermally induced cracking is initiated.

The high fracture toughness of Fiberstone is a result of the isotropic fibre network, which acts to reduce crack propagation before significant weaknesses form within the precast.

With a compressive strength of 2400 MPa at room temperature, Fiberstone far exceeds conventional refractories and offers a significant structural advantage over standard steel at equivalent elevated temperatures.

The extensive choice of high-grade stainless steel fibres that have been proven to perform strongly within Fiberstone, ensures that the material choice is engineered for exceptional performance in specific operating environment conditions.