Preparation of Continuous Silicate Fiber: Comparison of Natural Basalt and Artificial Stimulant with the Same Chemical Composition

The quality control of continuous silicate fiber requires careful management of independent oxides in the total composition, which is hard to realize for natural rocks. The present work aims to evaluate the feasibility of preparing fiber with similar quality from a simulant of natural rock with the same chemical composition. Two rock samples and their simulants from mixtures of independent oxides were used to compare their melting behavior, intermediate quenched glasses, and fibration performance. The mechanical properties of standard fibers from these raw materials were tested and analyzed. The results suggested that the heat effects during melting and the structural information of quenched glasses identified from Raman spectra were similar for the two types of materials, while the high-temperature reactions and fibration performances acted differently due to probable kinetic factors. The selected fibers of about 11 μm in diameter exhibited almost the same mechanical properties, regardless of the types of starting materials, indicating that it is feasible to prepare from the simulant continuous silicate fiber instead from the natural rock with careful consideration of fibration parameters. The results are helpful to further exploration of fibration mechanism, evaluation of specific fiber raw materials, and utilization of silicate waste.