Fluorocarbon (FKM) Rubber
Description:
Fluorocarbon is a well-known high performance rubber that has excellent resistance to high temperature, ozone, weather, oxygen, mineral oil, fuels, hydraulic fluids, aromatics, and many organic solvents and chemicals.
Viton™ fluoroelastomers fall into these different categories:
- A-TYPE, 66% fluorine
- B-, GBL-TYPE, 67~68.5% fluorine
- F-, GF-TYPE,70% fluorine
- GLT, GFLT
- Viton™ ETP Extreme
Viton™ ETP Extreme offers a higher level of resistance to more chemicals and solvents.
Common Uses:
FKM is found in:
- Chemical processing
- Aerospace applications
- Industrial applications
- O-rings
- Automotive applications
Properties:
Standard Compound: -26°C (-15°F) to 205°C (401°F)
Special Compound: -40°C (-40°F) to 230°C (446°F)
Hardness: 50 to 90 Shore A
ASTM D1418 Designation: FKM
ASTM D2000 Designation: HK
Standard Colors: Black
Optional Colors:
Production:
Standard FKM compounds are Bisphenol cured. FKM compounds that are peroxide cured possess better resistance to acid solutions, and can replace those that are litharge cured in an acid solution.
Advantages:
FKM rubber compounds perform well in petroleum products, fuels or blends with methanol or ethanol, diesel or blends with biodiesel, mineral oil and grease, silicone oil and grease, high vacuum environments, ozone, strong acids.
Limitations:
FKM rubber compounds are susceptive to amines, ketones, formic and acetic acids, nitro hydrocarbons, superheat steam, low molecular weight esters and ethers, hydrofluoric, chlorosulfonic acids at high heat, Skydrol® fluids, and phosphate ester based hydraulic fluids.
Viton™ Product Comparison:
Viton™ Product |
A |
AL |
B |
F |
GAL-S |
GBL-S |
GF-S |
GLT-S |
GBLT-S |
GFLT-S |
TBR-S |
ETP-S |
bisphenol |
bisphenol |
bisphenol |
bisphenol |
peroxide |
peroxide |
peroxide |
peroxide |
peroxide |
peroxide |
bisphenol |
peroxide |
|
Fluorine Content |
66% |
66% |
68.5% |
70% |
65.5% |
67.5% |
70% |
64.5% |
66% |
67% |
60% |
66% |
Heat Resistance |
All Viton™ products have outstanding thermal properties |
|||||||||||
Chemical Resistance |
Fair |
Fair |
Good |
Very Good |
Good |
Good |
Very Good |
Fair |
Good |
Very Good |
Fair |
BEST |
Base Resistance |
Poor |
Poor |
Poor |
Poor |
Fair |
Fair |
Fair |
Good |
Good |
Good |
BEST |
BEST |
Low Temperature Properties |
Good |
Very Good |
Good |
Fair |
Very Good |
Good |
Fair |
BEST |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Poor |
Fair |
Compression Set Resistance |
BEST |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Very Good |
Good |
Good |
Relative Cost of Polymer |
Low |
Low |
Low |
Low |
Low |
Low |
Low |
Medium |
Medium |
Medium |
Low |
High |