Nextel® 312 and Nextel® 440 are two similar materials - compositions of ceramic specially developed for the production of continuous filament yarns which are sufficiently flexible to manufacture conventional textile articles such as fabrics and sewing threads whilst retaining much of the high temperature and chemical resistance typical of ceramics.
Nextel® 440 has somewhat better tensile properties and higher upper working temperature but is less flexible than Nextel® 312. Nextel® 312 is available from Goodfellow as a yarn, a narrow fabric and sewing thread sizes.
Sewing threads are made from individual yarns, known as “singles”, wrapped around the outside with rayon and then twisted together in two stages to give a balanced, non-snarl, construction.
The rayon comprises about 20% of the initial weight of the thread and will “burn” out by about 300 °C if/when the sewn article is subsequently heated.
The fibres are coated with finishes during manufacture which can be removed, if desired, by "heat cleaning" at about 550 °C.
If the best possible properties are required, further heat treatment at about 920 °C should be used. More details of the recommended methods of treatment are available on request.
Key Properties
Key properties of Alumina / Silica / Boria are provided in table 1.
Table 1. Properties of Alumina / Silica / Boria.
| Chemical Resistance |
| Acids – concentrated |
Fair |
| Acids – dilute |
Good |
| Alkalis |
Poor-Fair |
| Metals |
Good |
| Electrical Properties |
| Dielectric constant |
5.2 @ 9.4 GHz |
| Mechanical Properties |
| Tensile modulus ( GPa ) |
140 |
| Tensile strength ( MPa ) |
1700 |
| Physical Properties |
| Apparent porosity ( % ) |
0 |
| Density ( g.cm-3 ) |
2.7 |
| Refractive index |
1.57 |
| Water absorption - saturation ( % ) |
0 |
| Thermal Properties |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion ( x10-6 K-1 ) |
3 @ 20-1000 °C |
| Specific heat ( J.K-1.kg-1 ) |
1100 @ 25 °C |
| Sublimation point ( °C ) |
1800 |
| Upper continuous use temperature ( °C ) |
1200-1400 |
| Properties Alumina/Silica/Boria Fibre |
| Property |
|
Value |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion - Longitudinal |
x10-6 K-1 |
3.0 |
| Density |
g.cm-3 |
2.7 |
| Extension to break |
% |
1.2 |
| Modulus |
GPa |
140 |
| Tenacity |
GPa |
1.7 |
About Goodfellow
Goodfellow supplies metals, ceramics and other materials to meet the research, development and specialist production requirements of science and industry worldwide.
The Goodfellow group consists of four companies. The main administration, research laboratories and workshops are located at the Company's headquarters in Cambridge, England. The subsidiary offices in America, France and Germany provide an additional service.