O-Rings

Nitrile (NBR, or Buna N) compounds are copolymers of acrylonitrile and butadiene; the acrylonitrile provides you with resistance to petroleum-based fluids such as oils and fuels, while butadiene gives you low temperature flexibility. Nitrile compounds provide excellent service with gasoline, crude oil, power steering fluid, hexane, toluene, water, water-based hydraulic fluids, and dilute bases such as sodium hydroxide.

FKM (Fluoroelastomer) compounds are best known for their exceptional chemical resistance to a wide range of fluids, including fuels, oils, acids, and solvents. O-rings made from FKM are often used in demanding industrial applications where resistance to harsh chemicals and high temperatures is required, such as in aerospace, automotive, and oil and gas industries.

EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) compounds are best known for their excellent resistance to weathering, ozone, and aging, making them ideal for outdoor applications. O-rings made from EPDM are commonly used in sealing applications where exposure to sunlight, moisture, and temperature variations is expected, such as in automotive weather sealing, outdoor lighting fixtures, and HVAC systems. Additionally, EPDM offers good resistance to water, steam, and some chemicals, making it suitable for a variety of industrial sealing applications.

Fluorosilicone has an inorganic silicone-oxygen polymer backbone like silicone, while incorporating fluorine-rich polar groups that provide you with resistance to non-polar fluids such as hydrocarbon fuels. While silicones have ASTM D2000 ‘D’ or ‘E’ fuel resistance designations, fluorosilicones are classified as ‘K’, the highest level of fuel resistance. Fluorosilicones” heat resistance is slightly below that of silicones, and share silicones¨ outstanding ozone, sunlight, and weathering resistance. They find their widest use in challenging military, aerospace, and automotive environments involving exposure to fuels over wide temperature ranges.

Chroloprene rubber (Neoprene™ ) is a monochlorinated butadiene polymer that offers you good resistance to weathering and petroleum-based lubricants across a wide temperature range. With good abrasion and tear resistance, consider chroloprene rubber for heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, refrigeration units, and numerous dynamic applications.

HNBR (Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber) compounds offer excellent resistance to oil, fuel, and other petroleum-based fluids, similar to nitrile (NBR) compounds. However, HNBR provides enhanced temperature resistance, ozone resistance, and chemical resistance compared to traditional NBR. O-rings made from HNBR are commonly used in applications where exposure to high temperatures, harsh chemicals, and automotive fluids is expected, such as in automotive engines, oil and gas industries, and hydraulic systems operating in demanding environments.

Tetrafluoroethylene propylene copolymers (Aflas®) compounds offer you almost universal resistance to both acids and bases, steam, acid gases, crude oil and many types of corrosion inhibitors. With combined resistance to corrosion inhibitors and heat, Aflas® seals are able to resist the extremes of heat and pressure present in aggressive downhole oil well environments. Aflas® seals have very low rates of gas permeation and are highly resistant to explosive decompression, making them excellent choices for downhole packing elements.

Silicone compounds have a backbone of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms rather than carbon linkages and are classified as inorganic materials. The siliconoxygen bond is flexible at low temperatures and has better heat stability than the carbon-oxygen or carbon-carbon bonds of organic materials. And since the silicon-oxygen linkages are completely saturated, silicone elastomers are immune to many types of chemical attack that degrade organic elastomers with unsaturated carbon bonds. Silicones offer you excellent resistance to ozone, UV radiation, fungal and biological attack, and extreme temperatures. Consider silicone seals for static applications in cryogenics and refrigeration, as electrical insulators, for transformer oils, and for dry heat exposure.