Fluorosilicone rubber (FVMQ) is a variation of silicone featuring stability, compression set resistance to temperature extremes, and enhanced resistances to non-polar solvents, fuels, oils, acids, and alkaline chemicals. This material is common in many industrial, automotive, and aerospace applications where static sealing and cushioning is required.
FVMQ contains trifluoropropyl groups, making it highly versatile for outdoor sealing applications or environments where exposure to sunlight, ozone, chlorination, or aromatic hydrocarbons is common. The basic properties of fluorosilicone include:
Temperature range: -60–200º C
Compression set: Fair/good
Strength: Fair
Low temperature properties: Excellent
Abrasion resistance: Poor
Gas permeability: Fair
Weather resistance: Excellent
Water resistance: Excellent
Ozone resistance: Excellent
Mineral oil resistance: Excellent
Chemical resistance: Excellent
Flame resistance: Excellent
Heat resistance: Excellent
A comparison between fluorosilicone and silicone in relation to their use in O-rings, gaskets, tubing and seals allow users to choose the best solution for specific applications.
Fluorosilicone vs. Silicone
Silicone elastomers—also known as silicone rubbers—are composed of silicone, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They are non-reactive, stable, and resistant to extreme environments and temperatures from −55–300° C (−67–572° F). They share these characteristics with fluorosilicones.
Fluorosilicone rubber distinguishes itself from silicone because it also contains additional beneficial properties common to fluorocarbons. The addition of these compounds enhances FVMQ’s capacity to resist solvents, fuel, and oil. Fluorosilicone has a slightly lower maximum service temperature hot air resistance than silicone.
Fluorosilicone O-rings, Gaskets Tubing and Seals
Fluorosilicone’s distinctive properties make it ideal for use in the sealing solutions found in engines, machines, and other mechanical systems. Common fluorosilicone sealing components include:
O-rings. Shaped like a donut, O-rings are usually seated within a groove on one or both of the joined parts where they form a seal, where they block the escape of air and fluids by filling in the space between coupled components.
Gaskets.Gaskets provide a flexible seal between two joined components. They are usually flat and relatively thin, with bolt or pin penetrations through them. Compressed between two flat surfaces, gaskets provide sealing as well as vibration control.
Seals. This is a general term for any component that prevents fluid/air leakage fluids, blocks contaminants, or maintains pressure. O-rings and gaskets are types of seals, but the term usually applies to application-specific sealing solutions held in place by compression, such as oil seals found in engines.
O-rings, gaskets and seals fill the space between two joined parts in a machine or engine, allowing for the conveyance or transfer of fluids or air between them without leakage. Beyond fluid and vapor leakage, these components prevent debris from entering into mechanical systems and maintain consistent pressures to ensure optimal performance.
Recommended Uses of Fluorosilicone O-rings, Gaskets Tubing, and Seals
Certain systems, environments, and applications benefit from the use of O-rings, gaskets, tubing, and seals created with fluorosilicone, including:
Jet fuel systems
Dry heat environments
Broad temperature range environments
Some petroleum oil applications
Chlorinated solvents environments
Non-Recommended Uses Fluorosilicone O-rings, Gaskets Tubing and Seals
Though their properties provide ideal solutions in the above instances, there are other applications where the use of fluorosilicone O-rings, gaskets, tubing, and seals will produce less desirable or negative results, including applications containing:
Ketones (MEK)
Phosphate esters
Some acids
Auto/aircraft brake fluids
Amines (ammonia)
Benefits of Fluorosilicone O-rings, Gaskets, Tubing and Seals
There are certain special features provided by fluorosilicone O-rings, gaskets, and seals. Seals made of FVMQ provide benefits such as:
Excellent flexibility and compression set resistance
High-level aging, weather, and UV resistance
Resistance to animal and vegetable oils, fuels, oxidizing chemicals, aromatic and chlorinated solvents
Capacity to withstand aliphatic and aromatic fluorocarbons, diluted alkalis, toluene, benzene, ozone, diester oils, silicone oils, and oxidative environments
Fluorosilicone Sealing and Tubing Solutions from Vanguard Products
The specialized properties of fluorosilicone provide many of the benefits of silicone while adding additional resistances to non-polar solvents, fuels, oils, acids, and alkaline chemicals. These benefits make it the right solution for the formation of O-rings, gaskets, tubing, and seals used in many industrial, automotive, aerospace and aviation applications.
Vanguard Products Corporation is a provider of fluorosilicone O-rings, gaskets, tubing, and seals for these and other applications. Contact us to learn more about the fluorosilicone sealing solutions available from Vanguard.
Since 1966, we’ve been making the world’s best high precision extruded, molded, and fabricated elastomeric goods. Everyone at Vanguard is committed to the highest quality and to a customer service that is second to none. In summary, our days are pretty full. Between engineering manufacturing, quality testing, and fielding orders and quotes, we really don’t have that much in the way of free time!
That being said, we want to take a quick break to spend some time asking you, our readers and customers, some pertinent questions. We know the capabilities of our rubber and silicone seals, gaskets, O-rings, and tubing from A to Z, but it’s always nice to know how these devices are being used in actual, in-development projects and applications. There’s always the chance that there are new, exciting uses for our products that we haven’t anticipated. On that note, it’s your turn to let us know how and why you’re using your Vanguard products, or at least the sorts of products that Vanguard specializes in. We’d also love to hear if there is any way we can improve our products and services; if there is any way we can become a better and more responsive company. We’re relying on you, the everyday users of our products, to fill us in on what we don’t know! In the end, we never want to stop growing and innovating, and a key component of that is being open to solid, intelligent feedback from the people you serve.
So leave a comment here on the blog, send us an email, or just pick up the phone and give us a call. We’ll enjoy hearing from you!
Dependably clean water–it is not only needed to sustain human life. A reliable clean water supply is critical for the operation of many industries ranging from pharmaceuticals production to power plants and electrical production. Without clean water, the internal workings of power plant systems can experience failures due to the buildup of residues contained in the water. This could cause long term outages resulting in not only inconvenience, but economic disasters. Without high purity water, it would be impossible to produce quality pharmaceuticals that meet the rigorous requirements that the FDA has set forth.
With respect to human consumption, the supply of clean, potable water is growing more and more challenging. Population growth is straining the already taxed water supply in environmentally challenging areas such as Asia and Africa. Further, political unrest and military actions around the world require that a reliable water supply be provided to not only our military, but to those civilians caught in the area of unrest. This is not to mention the needs for clean water required by those of us who enjoy “getting away” from civilization for a while by hiking, biking, or camping in the wilderness.
For all these requirements, Vanguard has you covered. Our custom silicone o-rings are used in large scale permanent water treatment facilities around the world to provide reliable sealing for membrane and media filtration units. These rings are formulated with clean silicone compounds that offer an extreme resistance to compression set, allowing their performance over the long term without leakage. Our silicone tubing is used extensively in portable potable water systems where reliable fluid transport is a requirement even after long periods of storage, all without imparting taste or smell to the water. Our EPDM extrusions and EPDM molded products have been used in sealing systems for wastewater treatment and reclamation systems for decades due to their durability and long life.
All in all, Vanguard is doing our part in working with our valued customers to increase the supply of this critical element around the world.
Forget the recent Olympics for a minute. As far as the weather goes in the US, 2012 has been setting the sorts of records no one really wants to set. Meteorologistsreport that it has been the hottest year on record in the lower 48 states. As of July 31st, the National Drought Mitigation Center reports that over 50% of US counties are in a state of moderate drought or worse, a figure actually less than a week before. The real trouble is happening in 2.52% of the US, where they are experiencing exceptional drought – and it’s a number that threatens to keep rising. While they believe this particular drought will subside, it doesn’t mean there will be much relief for producers of corn, soybeans, hay, and cattle for ‘12. If it continues as is projected, if drought-like conditions are the new norm, we will all be paying a lot more for just about everything we eat for years to come.
At Vanguard, while we don’t grow corn or raise cattle, we do manufacture and engineer many goods that are used in industries directly affected by the vicissitudes of nature. On the one end our silicone seals, tubing, O-rings, and gaskets are used extensively in the agricultural industry for water purification, wastewater treatment, emergency water supplies, and the like. When there is no rain, you just can’t afford to lose water from poor seals. Our goods also play a crucial role in the bagging and packaging of foods after production, ensuring that food makes it to market safely and cleanly. Everyone at Vanguard is keeping close tabs on the weather forecast. We are all hoping for some rain, but in the meantime, our silicone tubing, seals, and O-rings are here for farmers at this, the most crucial of times for North American agriculture.
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