mel jacobson on thu 18 dec 03
i am sure that the first uses of kaowool were
for the atomic energy use...atom smashers. late 40's,early 50's.
the brick walls of those first ovens were 12 feet thick.
the nose cones of the early rockets had a great deal to
do with the development of ceramic fiber.
as you know, they could get them up there, but not back.
too much heat. kaowool solved that problem.
i bought my first box of `kaowool` in 1958.
babcocks and wilcox. i am sure nils was using it
before that...and probably jim mckinnel.
i still have the box in my studio, half full.
that is loose fiber. i am sure that the rockets
used blanket style materials.
that is all i know
about that history.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
new/ http://www.rid-a-tick.com
Richard Aerni on thu 18 dec 03
On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 11:27:08 -0600, mel jacobson wrote:
>i bought my first box of `kaowool` in 1958.
>babcocks and wilcox. i am sure nils was using it
>before that...and probably jim mckinnel.
>i still have the box in my studio, half full.
>that is loose fiber. i am sure that the rockets
>used blanket style materials.
>that is all i know
>about that history.
Mel,
Well, you probably know more about that history than I do, but I was
recently reading the catalogue of Mikhail Zakin's retrospective exhibition
at the Worcester (Massachusetts) Center for Crafts, and a statement in it
struck me, and may provide a clue as to the history of insulating
refractories...
(from Mikhail's comments...[and if you don't know her, or her work, she is
one of the most impressive, forceful, and generous individuals you could
ever hope to meet]):
"After about three years working with Karen Karnes (my note: Stony Point,
NY, 1954-1957, along with David Weinrib and M.C. Richards), I built a soft-
brick kiln (one of the first;, designed by McKinnel) and was working in my
own studio at home. Later we built the salt kiln at Stony Point. It was
one of only two or three in the country in private hands."
My point being, that if soft brick were relatively new in 1957, then it
seems logical to me to assume that kaowool was a more recent innovation
than soft brick. I'd love to hear from anyone out there who has more
definitive information on this stuff.
My own "inside" information about ceramic insulating materials and the
space industry came from a conversation with one of my old geology profs at
University of Pennsylvania (I was a geology major there in the early
1970s). Dr. Giegengack related how one of my old profs, and his colleague,
Ian Harker, had developed a spinel based paint for Martin Marietta for
possible use on the space shuttle. He said it would cost $40,000 per
gallon, but that spinel is really the best ceramic insulating material
around (hint: ITC??). Ultimately, however, NASA decided to go with ceramic
tiles for use on the shuttle skin.
Best,
Richard Aerni
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