Our ‘O’ ring application guide
‘O’ rings are ubiquitous across Industry. Why? Because these simple but staggeringly effective seals have been delivering dependable and highly cost-effective sealing solutions for more than a century. In this ‘O’ ring application guide, TRP Polymer Solutions outlines common ‘O’ ring seal applications and explains why each can benefit from the remarkable properties of FFKM.
What is an ‘O’ ring?
‘O’ rings might just be the most perfectly designed – and named – seal in engineering history. These torus or O-shaped seals feature a design that has remained largely unchanged since the early twentieth century, which is testament to their sealing efficiency. They say you can’t improve on perfection and in the case of ‘O’ rings that is largely true. However, increasingly sophisticated elastomers have led to performance gains over the years.
These simple but reliable seals sit between the join of two mated components to form a leak-proof seal under compression. ‘O’ rings can be specified to tackle static or dynamic sealing operations in pneumatic and hydraulic applications, and are used to prevent the escape of gases or liquids in everything from valves and cylinders to connectors and pumps. ‘O’ rings are famed for their economical, reliable and versatile characteristics.
‘O’ ring seal applications<?h2>
‘O’ rings are used far and wide across the engineering and manufacturing sectors. Here are just some of the ‘O’ ring seal applications that are commonplace in Industry.
High-temperature applications
High-temperature ‘O’ rings are designed to provide a reliable seal even in extreme heat, which makes them ideal for demanding industries and environments, such as oil and gas refineries. ‘O’ rings constructed from our TRPlast™ Perfluoroelastomer (FFKM) deliver incredible dynamic sealing performance even in extreme temperatures.
Ultra-low temperature applications
Ultra-low temperature ‘O’ rings continue to perform optimally even in extremely cold temperatures, unlike non-specialised ‘O’ rings that would almost certainly fail due to the formation of leak paths as the ‘O’ ring ceases to be malleable. Our ultra-low temperature TRPlast™ ‘O’ rings promise continuous operation even at -45 °C.
Chemical applications
Many standard ‘O’ ring materials are unsuitable for use with certain chemicals, such as oils, fuels or solvents. For chemical processing applications, and other industry environments that handle corrosive media, our specially-formulated TRPlast™ FFKM offers the broadest chemical resistance of any elastomeric ‘O’ ring material.
Food and beverage applications
To comply with food-grade standards, ‘O’ rings must only consist of declared and approved materials. In the UK, this applies to elastomers and polymers, as well as natural and synthetic rubbers. Our FDA-approved TRPlast™ FFKM materials are specially-formulated to withstand CIP, SIP and steam cleaning processes.
Buy ‘O’ rings from TRP Polymer Solutions
TRP Polymer Solutions manufactures a wide range of high-performance ‘O’ rings suitable for even the most demanding conditions. Formulated from durable, high-specification materials, including patented TRPlast™ FFKM, our precision-engineered ‘O’ rings are available to AS-568A / BS1806 / BS ISO 3601-1 / BS ISO 3601-2 standard sizes and are supported by a large range of non-standard tooling.
For more information about our high-performance FFKM ‘O’ rings, or to discuss your application requirements in more detail, call TRP Polymer Solutions today on +44(0)1432 268899 or email sales@trp.co.uk.
