Silicone Rubber Products: Rubber Tubing and More

Common Name: Silicone

ASTM D-2000 Classification: FC, FE, GE
Chemical Definition: Polysiloxane

Temperature Range

Low Temperature Usage: -60° to -150° F | -50°C to -100°C
High Temperature Usage: Up to 480° F | Up to 250°C

Tensile Strength

Tensile Range: 200-1500 P.S.I.
Elongation: 700% Maximum

Resistance

Abrasion Resistance: Fair to Poor
Tear Resistance: Poor
Solvent Resistance: Poor
Oil Resistance: Fair to Poor

Caution: Generally, silicones are attacked by most concentrated solvents, oils, acids and dilute sodium hydroxide.

Additional Properties

Aging Weather - Sunlight: Excellent
Adhesion to Metals: Good
Durometer (Hardness) Range: 30-90 Shore A
Compression Set: Good
Resilience/Rebound: Good

Industrial Classifications

• Liquid Silicone Rubbers (LSR) - also called heat curable liquid materials. Processed on specially designed injection molding and extrusion equipment.

• High Temperature Vulcanizing (HTV) - also called heat curable silicone, these materials usually are in a semi-solid gum form while in the uncured state. Rubber-type processing is required to produce finished items.

• Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) - usually comes in the form of a flowable liquid. Commonly used for sealants, mold making, encapsulation and potting. RTV materials are generally not used as conventional rubbers.

Silicone Compounds

• Silicone rubber material can be compounded in different ways to meet any number of applications.

• Silicone fillers can also improve the tensile strength to be in the area of 1500 PSA and tear resistance up to 200lbs.

• Flame retardant additives can be added to increase fire resistant properties.

• Carbon black additive will also increase the silicone's electrical conductivity.

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  Silicone rubber is well suited for a variety of applications and industries, including:

  Silicone Rubber Tubing

  Mechanical Engineering

  • Square, kink free tubing for furnace pressure switches

  • Sound and vibration dampening in automotive drive shaft applications

  • Shaft sealing rings

  • Silicone O rings

  • Window and door seals

  • Sealing Gaskets

  • Oven door gaskets

  

  Electrical Engineering

  • Wire and cable jacketing

  • Electrical Safety Stinger Covers

  • Conductive profiled silicone seals

  Additional Applications

  Many closed cell silicone sponge and silicone gaskets have flame retardant properties making them suitable for gasket applications in Mass Transit systems, telecommunications equipment and HVAC applications.

  UL94 V-0 silicones are used in consumer electronics and business equipment and in closed spaces such as aircraft, subways and building interiors.

  

  
  

• If this material is right for your environment and application, there are many benefits and advantages.

  • Withstands high & low temperatures far better than organic rubber

  • Good thermal stability

  • Repels water & forms tight seals

  • Excellent electrical insulation, no decline in insulation performance even when immersed in water, making it an ideal insulating material

  • Flexible at low temperatures, stiffens up at higher temperatures

  • Under ordinary pressure, contact with steam typically causes little or no deterioration

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  • Flame retardant, will not ignite easily. Some products received UL94 V-0 certification according to the UL94 (USA) standards for flammability classification.

  • Unlike most organic elastomers such as EPDM and neoprene, the compression set of silicone rubber is consistent over a wide range of temperatures from -60° to +250°C. The selection of a proper curing agent and post-curing is particularly recommended when using silicone material to make molded products that require a low compression set.

  • Customizable for specific applications by adjusting the compound recipe by selecting the proper curing agent and/or post-curing the compound to improve resistance to flames, steam & hot water (over 150C)

  • Low chemical reactivity

  

  Why Silicone is the Ideal Material for Extreme Temperatures

  Silicone rubber withstands high and low temperatures far better than their organic rubber counterparts.

  • Ability to be used continuously at 150°C (302° F) with virtually no change in its properties.

  • Certain silicone compounds can withstand use even at 200°C (392° F) for 10,000 hours or more.

  • Some silicone rubber products can withstand heat upwards of 350°C (662° F) for short periods.