Elastomer seals tolerate harsh conditions

A Precision Polymer Engineering product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 20, 2007

Precision Polymer Engineering's Endura range of elastomer seals offer the widest operating temperature range currently available, from -45 to +225C.

Precision Polymer Engineering has developed the Endura range of elastomer seals to cope with the temperature extremes, high-pressures and levels of hydrogen sulphide and other chemicals encountered during oil and gas exploration and processing.

The FKM, HNBR and TFE/P materials offer the widest operating temperature range currently available, from -45 to +225C.

With excellent chemical resistance and mechanical properties, Endura materials are designed for applications as diverse as sub surface valves and pumps, through to compressors, and down-hole equipment including drill heads.

Two years in development, Endura brings sealing technology for oil and gas exploration up to date.

The physical performance and chemical and temperature resistance of the materials reflect the difficult conditions in which exploration is now being conducted.

The combination of low temperature capability and high-pressure performance has been achieved by careful selection of available polymers and by skilled elastomer formulation and characterisation.

Endura elastomers have better chemical resistance than conventional explosive decompression grades, greater low-temperature capabilities and are compliant with many international explosive decompression standards.

"Endura is an important development for the oil and gas industry that will offer significant improvement in seal performance where it matters most - in the harshest working environments in the world", says Phil Kelshaw, Sales Manager, PPE.

"It heads up a growing range of PPE sealing solutions engineered to extend the operational life of seals so ensuring machinery and drilling equipment can operate for longer".

Early seal failure is an all too common occurrence on gas compressors used in oil extraction.

Trials of Endura seals on a leading gas compressor model have shown that the elastomer lasts at least three times as long as existing seals, significantly reducing the incidence of seal failure.

As one supplier of compressors to the oil and gas industry commented, "24-hour compressor operation means there are lots of points of failure".

"If we can extend the life of the seals to the point where we're replacing them only three times a year as part of our routine maintenance we'll have made a big improvement to compressor performance, Endura takes us a lot closer to our goal than current seals".

Endura seals are available as O-rings and special profiles to provide solutions to sealing problems.

PPE uses computer simulation techniques to assist in seal design by identifying and eliminating areas of high stress which are a common cause of seal failure.

Supporting the Endura range, PPE offers additional elastomer sealing materials for oil and gas exploration and processing including AFLAS, FKM, HNBR and Perlast perfluoroelastomer.

These provide oil and gas companies with the opportunity to select the most appropriate elastomer to suit the environmental temperature, mechanical demands and chemical resistance of the application.