Microfibrous entrapped particulates using high corrosion resistance glass fibers

Microfibrous entrapped micronic particulates using high corrosion resistance glass fibers were built by wet layup papermaking process followed by sintering in air at 840-950 °C. Microfibrous carriers consisting of 2-7 vol.% of 8 μm (dia.) S-2 and E-type glass fibers could be used to entrap 25-48 vol.% of 100-150 μm (dia.) SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ particulates. SEM results indicate that the junctures of glass fibers were completely welded together to cause a sinter-locked three-dimensional network thereby entrapping micronic particulates were present in the paper preform. N₂-BET analyses indicate that these microfibrous media provided significantly large surface area in per unit volume of the composites, compared to traditional monolithic honeycomb and microchannel approaches.