Glass bubble,Hollow glass microspheres , Glass sphere beads, Manufacturer & suppliers

Glass used to be called colored glass because of its twists and turns. When the light passes through the glass, the refracted light is very beautiful. We all know a little about the use of glass, such as cups, windows, decorations, etc. Because of the strong plasticity of glass, it can be made as it is.

Do you know about glass beads? This is a new material that has been developed slowly in recent years. Please see below for the specific use of glass beads.

Use of glass beads:

1、 There are three types of reflective glass beads for roads:

1. It is used for surface spreading during normal temperature and hot melt standard construction, which has a strong reflective effect!

2. As a premixed material, it is premixed in the coating during the production of hot-melt road coating, which can ensure that the marking will reflect light for a long time within its service life

3. This kind of glass bead should be used to sprinkle glass bead on the surface of normal temperature solvent paint marking.

2、 Glass beads for industrial use

1. Purpose

(1) It can be polished on the surface of metal and mould, and can be used as metal abrasive material, which will not damage the working surface and improve the precision of the workpiece.

(2) It can be used for military cleaning and sandblasting, and is used for cleaning turbine, blade, shaft, etc. of aircraft engine.

(3) In the chemical industry, glass beads can be used as additives and reinforcers in the production of plastic, rubber, paint, nylon and other adhesives.

2. Principle

During polishing, compressed air is used as the injection power, glass beads are used as the medium, and the workpiece surface is sprayed at high speed and high pressure for shot peening strengthening and polishing

The processing achieves the purpose of cleaning and improving the processing precision.

3. Advantages

(1) The glass beads made of soda lime glass have good chemical stability, certain mechanical strength and hardness. Therefore, they have great advantages as polishing and grinding materials compared with other grinding materials.

(2) It will not contaminate the processed metal.

(3) It can speed up the cleaning and restore the original cleanliness and finish of the processing materials.

3、 Other applications

1. Glass beads have been widely used in artificial agate, marble, glass fiber reinforced plastic bowling ball and other composite materials as well as high-grade thermal insulation coatings, which can significantly reduce the weight of products and have good thermal insulation effect.

2. Glass bead is a sensitizer with excellent performance for civil emulsion explosives, which can significantly improve the initiation performance of emulsion explosives and extend the storage period. In addition, hollow glass beads can also be used to increase the volume of putty, improve the grinding performance, and improve the acid and alkali resistance.

It can be seen from the above that the use of glass beads is very extensive. Glass beads are a new type of material. With its slow development, it is believed that glass beads will have more and more uses and will be used in more industries. This is to be explored slowly. And glass beads are also used in zebra crossings on urban traffic roads. Under the sun or light, there will be some light flashing to remind everyone to be careful. As for the future use of glass beads, let’s wait quietly.

Nowadays, with the continuous improvement of domestic fire safety requirements, the development of materials with better thermal insulation and flame retardant performance is of great significance to modern building energy conservation.

Hollow glass microspheres modified polyurethane sponge (PU-HGM) with enhanced flame retardancy is prepared by dipping hollow glass microsphere onto PU sponge through polydimethylsiloxane. The PU-HGM sponge exhibits porous network structure with rich micron sized pores, as well as the hollow glass microsphere with closed hollow spherical structure endow the prepared PU-HGM better thermal insulation performance, and the thermal conductivity is 0.050 W m−1 K−1.

Besides, the PU-HGM maintains excellent elasticity of PU sponge, and shows strong mechanical strength, the stress of PU-HGM sponge was as high as 882 kPa at 70% strain after 3 cycles. More importantly, compared with pure PU sponge, the PU-HGM shows excellent flame retardancy. It keeps its original shape after combustion, and no obvious flame was observed on the surface of PU-HGM sponge.

Thus, combined with its high mechanical strength, low material cost, simple and scalable preparation method, the as-prepared PU-HGM sponge shows great potential for application in the field of heat insulation and flame retardant.

Opening ceremony of Advanced Powder Material Industrial Park of Sinosteel Mining Institute was held

Yuan Fang and Liu Guowang attended

In the afternoon of November 29, the opening ceremony of the Advanced Powder Materials Industrial Park of Sinosteel Mining Institute was held in the municipal economic development zone. Yuan Fang and Qin Junfeng, municipal leaders, Liu Guowang and Xu Chuanhua, leaders of Sinosteel Group, and Wang Qiang, secretary-general of the municipal government attended the opening ceremony.

It is reported that the advanced powder material industrial park project of Sinosteel Mining Institute was constructed by Maanshan New Material Technology Co., Ltd. of Sinosteel Group with an investment of 2 billion yuan. The project is divided into two phases. In the first phase, three carbon aerogel production lines, two high-performance hollow glass beads production lines, and one spherical weighting material production line will be constructed. After reaching the capacity, the project can produce 1000 tons of carbon aerogel, 15000 tons of high-performance hollow glass microsphere, and 20000 tons of spherical weighting materials annually. It is expected to achieve an annual output value of 1 billion yuan and an annual tax of 60 million yuan.

The first phase of the project was started in October 2021. At present, the main plant has been completed, the equipment has been installed and commissioned, and is in trial production. It will be formally put into production before the end of the year.

Hollow glass microspheres are thin-walled micro-borosilicate glass beads. They are chemically very stable, have a very low density and high compressive strength.

Glues

Weight reduction; sound absorption; reduced contraction; improved thermal and electrical insulation.

Finishes

Cost reduction; high filling degree with low viscosity; improved flow properties, gloss and processability; higher hardness and abrasion resistance; reduction of UV degradation.

Injection moulding/extrusion

Improved level of detail; cost reduction; improved rigidity; reduced warpage.

Fillers

Weight reduction; cost reduction; sound reduction; reduced contraction; improved thermal and electrical insulation.

Sealants

Weight reduction; cost reduction; sound reduction; reduced contraction; improved thermal and electrical insulation.

Hollow glass microspheres, also known as hollow glass beads, have been in use for at least 100 years. Hollow glass microsphere technology was developed in the 1950s as a product of manufacturing solid glass beads. Since that time, many industries have come to rely on both solid and hollow glass microspheres as a major component of their products and processes.

Initially used primarily as a filler for plastics in the 1960s, it was used in many industries and thousands of applications, including aerospace and military materials, molded plastic parts, reflective highway signs, oil and gas, recreation, paints and coatings, transportation, construction, mining explosives, personal care, cosmetics and consumer products.

In recent years, hollow glass microspheres have experienced outstanding growth due to the emergence of new high-value, high-growth industries and the market for high-quality hollow glass microspheres with perfect sphericity, tight tolerances and particle size distribution. These industries include biomedical, life sciences, microscopy, automotive, high-tech devices and specialty applications.

Hollow glass microsphere is a kind of hollow, thin-walled, high-strength, smooth surface micro sphere, which is a new micro scale lightweight inorganic material developed in the 1950s and 1960s. In addition to the advantages of low density, high strength, low heat conduction, high wave transmission and good stability, it also has excellent properties that other non-metallic mechanical materials do not have, such as insulation, self-lubricating, sound insulation, fire resistance, corrosion resistance and radiation protection. Therefore, it is widely used, even indispensable in some special fields.

In the early years, it was found that some by-products of fly ash were pearl like hollow microspheres with a diameter of 20~200 under the microscope μ The shell thickness varies from 5% to 30% of the diameter, and its main components are SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, MgO, Na2O, K2O, etc. This kind of sphere has small specific gravity, high surface pressure, strong wear resistance, good flame retardancy, good acid resistance and high temperature resistance, so it has been exploited for new functions. At the early stage of the development of artificial hollow glass beads, due to the high cost, they were mainly used in cutting-edge fields such as aerospace and national defense. Later, the United States and Japan took the lead in the research and development and mass production of hollow glass beads, which formed a situation where hollow glass beads were monopolized by foreign countries and became one of the neck materials in China.

With the development of science and technology in China, hollow glass beads can be industrialized in China, and gradually become a new functional material with relatively low price and rich functions, which has been widely used in military and civilian fields such as thermal insulation materials, insulation materials, composite materials, petrochemical, coatings, rubber, etc.

When visiting the application exhibition hall of Shenglaite, the technicians introduced to the small group that Shenglaite’s hollow glass beads have been successfully applied in more than 20 downstream fields, including daily consumer goods, industrial supplies and cutting-edge aerospace fields.

In terms of 5G communication, hollow glass beads can help improve the transmission rate because their hollow glass material has a low dielectric constant of 1.0~2.0. At present, downstream applications involved include 5G base station and radome materials, 5G mobile phone middle frame and backplane, Internet of Things equipment, etc.

In terms of lightweight of rubber, elastomer and vehicles, hollow glass beads have a good role in reducing the specific gravity, which can reduce the weight of rubber and plastic composites by 8%~10%. In addition, hollow glass beads can also effectively improve the processing performance of materials, increase rigidity and resilience, and improve a series of special functions of materials, such as heat insulation, sound insulation and noise reduction, and flame retardancy. They are widely used in shoes, flexible pillows, car shells, special parts and other products.

In the coating industry, the characteristics of hollow glass microspheres, such as micron particle size, microsphere effect and hollowness, endow the coating with better heat insulation and heat preservation effect, and create a new cooling coating integrating reflection, radiation and efficient heat insulation. It is not only used in military and aerospace equipment, but also widely used in oil pipelines, oil storage tanks, communication base stations, large grain storage silos and other industries.

As an anti-corrosion coating, the addition of hollow microspheres makes the product have better antifouling, anti-corrosion, anti ultraviolet, anti yellowing, and scratch resistance effects, which can be widely used in weather resistant sunscreen and thermal insulation outdoor coatings, automotive coatings, ship antifouling coatings, anti-corrosion coatings, etc.

In the adhesive industry, the addition of hollow microspheres can reduce the density of the adhesive, reduce the volume cost, improve the rheological property of the adhesive, improve the thixotropy and chemical corrosion resistance, and give the product better sound insulation, heat insulation, low heat conduction and dielectric properties, as well as better anti warping and anti cracking properties. Hollow glass beads are widely used in adhesives such as silicone, epoxy resin, acrylic acid, polyurethane, synthetic rubber, etc. In addition to the above, hollow glass beads have a very typical application for oilfield cementing, which is also the field with the largest consumption for a long time. The use of oilfield cementing includes low-density drilling fluid and cementing cement.

The low-density drilling fluid added with hollow glass beads not only has higher chemical stability and excellent fluidity, but also has better lubrication effect. It can reduce friction during drilling, extend the service life of drill pipe, drill bit and other equipment, and greatly improve the drilling speed and operating efficiency. The addition of hollow glass beads in cementing cement gives the product the characteristics of low density, high strength and easy flow. It is one of the main ways to solve the problem of low leakage and low return of cement slurry in low pressure and leaky wells. It can effectively control the water loss rate and prevent pollution. The 24h compressive strength can reach more than 15MPa, and can improve the cementing quality and extend the life of oil wells.

ARTICLE SOURCE: Powder ring network

1: Binder: The application of glass microsphere in the binder can give it the advantages of weight reduction, shrinkage reduction, VOC reduction and increased filling amount.

2: Bowling ball: It can be used to control the density well. Using microspheres with different densities as fillers can better control the density and ensure the stability of the ball.

3: Deep water floating body: reduce the amount of resin used in production, thus reducing the cost; It can reduce weight; Waterproof; Easy to grind (good grinding performance); Easy processing (low viscosity, good flow performance)

4: Polyurethane injection molding: It can reduce cost, easy to polish, easy to process, reduce shrinkage, reduce warpage, and reduce weight.

5: Plugging agent: used as a plugging agent, it can reduce shrinkage and prevent cracking.

6: Artificial stone: It can be easily polished, easily processed, reduce weight, and prevent from thermal cracking (that is, its thermal insulation property has the effect of resisting thermal shock)

7: Cement: adding ceramic tile cement can reduce shrinkage and increase flow.

8: Polyester casting: used for furniture decoration, it can reduce the amount of resin used to reduce costs, easy to polish, easy to process, reduce shrinkage, reduce warpage, reduce weight, and have the effect of heat preservation, making it feel good.

9: Golf ball: (light ball) mainly refers to the effect of weight reduction.

10: Ship putty: used in ship putty can reduce resin consumption, cost, weight, shrinkage and warpage.

11: Clamping board putty: it can reduce cost, weight, shrinkage and warpage.

12: Ceramic material (lightweight): it can reduce the cost, shrink, dielectric constant and heat insulation.

13: Wall putty: It can be easily polished and reduce shrinkage.

14: Synthetic foam: It has the effect of reducing cost and weight.

15: SMC, BMC and other composite materials such as glass fiber reinforced plastic and wood plastic can reduce weight, resin consumption, cost, heat preservation, shrinkage, warpage and easy processing.

16: Application of paint:

(1) Interior and exterior wall coatings of buildings: improve the reflection, heat insulation, durability, waterproof and scrub resistance of coatings; nature

(2) Thermal insulation coating: good thermal insulation effect, increase the building area, energy conservation and environmental protection, and reduce building energy consumption.

17: Glass microspheres are used in oil and gas fields:

(1) Drilling fluid: it can be added to various drilling fluids as a density reducing agent, and its main advantages are: well reducing the density of drilling fluid; It reduces torque and friction, and does no harm to the formation. It works with leak loss reducer to reduce circulating leakage. It is easy to mix and pump. Grout replenishing can be easily mixed on site without special equipment. It has high stability, good compression resistance, and no impact on the performance of drilling and downhole equipment. Microspheric drilling fluid is single-phase and incompressible, so it can be easily used for fluid calculation and measurement while drilling. It has no effect on rheological properties. It can be recycled and reused.

(2) Cementing cement: it is used in cementing cement, and its main advantages are: it can reduce the density very well, and has good rheological property, improve the displacement speed, high and tight cementation strength, reduce leakage, reduce the waiting time, easy to mix, no special equipment, easy to pump, high cementing strength, high compressive strength, no need for multi-stage cementing.

Hollow glass microspheres are a ultra-lightweight, inorganic, non-metallic, hollow alternative to conventional fillers and additives. They find applications in many demanding industries such as paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, cast polyester, compounding and many more. The low-density material is used to reduce weight, lower costs and enhance product properties.

The unique spherical shape of the hollow glass microspheres offer a number of important benefits, including higher filler loading, lower viscosity and reduced shrinkage. It further makes it more adaptable to a variety of production processes including spraying, casting and molding.

The chemically stable soda-lime-borosilicate glass composition provides excellent water resistance to create more stable emulsions. They are non-combustible and non-porous, so they do not absorb resin. The hollow glass microspheres also create stable voids, which result in low thermal conductivity and low dielectric constant.

Hollow glass microspheres are available in a variety of sizes and grades to help you meet your product and processing requirements.

The physical characteristics of HG hollow glass microspheres lead to the following advantages:

1. The alkali lime borosilicate component of the glass microsphere makes its chemical property stable and inert, so that it can be safely used as a filler or additive without worrying about its reaction with the substrate or other substances, and can withstand other chemical corrosion except strong alkali.

2. The perfect sphericity endows it with excellent isotropic consistency, so that it will not warp and shrink due to stress inconsistency after processing.

3. The hollow glass microsphere is a small round ball. In the liquid, it acts like a miniature ball bearing, and has better fluidity than the fillings of sheet, needle or irregular shape. The resulting microsphere effect reduces the viscosity of the mixture, and the filling performance is naturally excellent; Good processing performance can improve the production efficiency by 10%~20%.

4. The perfect sphericity makes it have a small specific surface area of Z, so its oil absorption is low. Compared with the conventional filler calcium carbonate, the oil absorption rate/amount of hollow glass microspheres is much lower. The oil absorption rate of different models of products per 100g is between 7 and 40mg, while the oil absorption rate of light calcium carbonate per 100g is as high as 120 to 130mg, and that of heavy calcium carbonate is as high as 50 to 60mg. The amount of resin is reduced. At the same time, because it can increase the fluidity of resin, the resin is processed only as a base material rather than a filler, thus reducing the amount of resin.

5. Due to the particle size distribution of glass microspheres, small microspheres fill the pores of large microspheres, thus increasing their solid content. At the same time, their volatilization is very low, which reduces VOC

6. The color is white, so it has good color compatibility.

7. Its low true density and strong compressive strength result in its high compressive strength density ratio, which makes it not only play the role of filler or additive with reduced density, but also have a good survival rate and stability in the processing process in some applications requiring high compressive strength, such as extrusion, die or petroleum industry

8. The particle size is small, which will not reduce its toughness when mixed with resin for processing.

9: The interior of the hollow glass microsphere is a vacuum thin gas. Two different materials have different densities and thermal conductivity, so it has the characteristics of sound insulation, heat insulation and low thermal conductivity. It is an excellent filler for various heat insulation and sound insulation products. The thermal insulation properties of the microspheres can also be used to protect the products from thermal shock caused by alternate changes between hot and cold conditions

10: The closed space ratio is very high. At the same time, the sphere is tight and perfect, and it is insoluble in water, which makes its application in water very stable. Water will not enter the interior of the sphere, so it does not cause the problem of density increase. At the same time, because it is insoluble in water, its application in water, such as yachts, rowing, etc., is also extremely stable.

11: Some tests have shown that hollow or low hardness fillers will absorb and digest the impact strength when impacted, so as to improve the impact resistance of materials. Therefore, as a filler, it can improve the physical and mechanical properties of plastic products. At the same time, the hardness and elastic modulus of the material can be greatly increased, and the stiffness and stress damping capacity can also be improved.

12: It can maintain its stability below 600 ℃, so it is stable in some applications requiring slightly higher temperature.

Syntactic foam is a solid insulation material, featuring a foam-like structure. It’s a composition of hollow glass microspheres and a polymeric matrix material. In this study it consists of hollow glass microspheres and an epoxy resin matrix.

The present paper deals with the influence of modified inner interfaces (achieved by silane-coated hollow glass microspheres in order to improve the adhesion quality between the hollow glass microspheres and the epoxy resin matrix) on the electrical properties of the material. The experiments show that the silane-coating (also known as silanization) has a positive influence on the breakdown field strength under electrical ac and dc short term stress. The experiments are conducted for different degrees of filling of the hollow glass microspheres (10 vol.% … 50 vol.%).

It is shown, that the influence of the silanization becomes more significant with higher degree of filling. The life time of the material under electrical ac as well as dc stress can also be improved by a silanization. The dielectric properties (loss factor and relative permittivity) are not influenced by a silanization. Measurements of the viscosity of syntactic foam verify that a silanization reduces the viscosity of the uncured, liquid material during the manufacturing process. Hereby, an improvement of the material’s production quality can be achieved at high hollow glass microspheres’ filling degrees.