Dow will launch new SILASTIC fluorosilicone rubber in China
Dow’s High Performance Silicones Division, a global leader in silicones, silicon-based technologies and innovations, announced at the ATF’s 2018 2nd Automotive Piping Systems Innovation Technology Summit that it will be launched in China for automotive turbocharging. Tube of the new SILASTIC fluorosilicone rubber (FSR), and at the summit show the results of laboratory tests of this high performance material compared to traditional fluorocarbon rubber. The new SILASTIC® fluorosilicone rubber (FSR) offers the following key performance enhancements: greater heat resistance and higher tensile strength to meet automotive engine temperature rise and booster tube pressure requirements. The Dow High Performance Silicones Division will also showcase new products for the turbocharger coextrusion process to improve processability.
IKSONIC Rubber Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the first Chinese customers to use the new SILASTIC fluorosilicone rubber (FSR), which produces a turbocharger for gasoline vehicles for Peugeot Citroen (China).
Yang Xinjie, regional marketing manager for silicone elastomers in Greater China, Dow High Performance Silicones Division, said, “As fuel economy and emissions control requirements become more stringent, the temperature of the customer’s turbocharged engine intake system rises sharply. High, this requires high-performance turbotube materials that withstand extreme temperatures and corrosive chemical environments. The Dow High Performance Silicones Division has greatly improved our fluorosilicone technology, which is used in pressurized tube linings. Now available in China, it helps the automotive industry use turbocharging technology to improve vehicle sustainability and performance.”
Report on new fluorosilicone rubber
Dr. Shi Qing, Senior Technical Service Manager of Silicone Elastomers Greater China in Dow High Performance Silicones Division will hold the 2018 2nd Automotive Pipeline System Innovation Technology Summit held at ATC from 17:00 to 17:30 on July 12th. The keynote report entitled “Dow’s fluorosilicone rubber for turbocharger tubes” was published. The main content of the report is the test results of SILASTIC® fluorosilicone rubber (FSR), and the heat aging of the material, High temperature and low temperature resistance, oil resistance, acid resistance and urea resistance, and adhesion to solid rubber (HCR) are compared with fluorocarbon rubber.
Turbotubes are more demanding
Compared to conventional engines, turbocharged diesel and gasoline engines convert more fuel energy into power, helping to improve fuel efficiency and control emissions. However, the hot end turbotubes of such engines are subjected to high temperatures of up to 220 ° C and higher compressed air pressures. In addition, the turbocharger must also meet another requirement: oil resistance to engine oil contained in the air stream. The use of a fluorinated liner as a barrier prevents the tube from being in contact with the engine oil causing tube wall expansion and possible cracking.
SILASTIC fluorosilicone rubber (FSR) has a high temperature resistance of up to 210 ° C, a peak temperature of up to 250 ° C and excellent oil resistance. Compared with fluorocarbon rubber, the tensile elongation at higher temperature (225 ° C) and low temperature (-20 ° C) is higher, and the compression deformation performance at high temperature is stronger, and also has good resistance to acetic acid and urea. This material is suitable for coextrusion and hand-wrapped processes with excellent initial and continuous adhesion to high density rubber (HCR). In contrast, fluorocarbon rubber has a strong initial adhesion to high-density rubber (HCR), but it only drops rapidly after one day of heat aging.
Other potential automotive applications for SILASTIC fluorosilicone rubber include: fuel line safety seals, fuel system seals, valve plates, membranes, O-rings and gaskets.
To support this innovative technology, Dow’s High Performance Silicones Division has developed an optimized multi-layer coextrusion process for turbocharged tubes to increase throughput.