Hobbies And Interests
Uses
Combustion boats' primary uses are in conducting scientific experiments requiring extreme heat or corrosive chemicals and even atomic-related testing. One such experiment is to estimate carbon levels in steel. This involves placing a steel sample into a combustion boat and subjecting it to extreme heat between 1,400 and 1,600 degrees F. By adding oxygen and employing the "lever rule," scientists can measure the carbon levels based on the temperature.
Industries
Almost any industry that requires experimentation under extreme conditions will make use of a combustion boat. Educational institutions with advanced chemistry and other schools of science use them. The scientific community as well as industrial researchers, particularly those experimenting with metals, harsh chemicals and corrosive agents, make use of combustion boats.
Important Properties
Combustion boats share qualities that make them ideal for harsh conditions. They are very resistant to extreme heat conditions and expand very little. They are corrosive resistant. Because of their hardness and mechanical strength many other tools used in laboratories are made from very similar materials.
Materials
Combustion boats are made from materials such as chemical porcelain, a combination of china clay, feldspar, quartz, talc, alumina and additives. Hydrofluoric acid is one of the few things that can affect it. Opaque fused quartz is another common material for combustion boats. It is made by heating quartz sand to approximately 2,000 degrees C. (3,632 degrees F., so it liquifies. Laboratory ceramics are another form of combustion boat material. These are composed of silicon carbide, aluminum oxide and silicon nitride. In powder form, they are initially mixed with a binder and submitted to low temperatures to oxidize. Then the mixture is subjected to extreme heat to bind and harden. Manufacturers use either molds or mechanical pressing to form a ceramic combustion boat.