DuPont releases new class of high temperature resistant perfluoroplastics
DuPont has put out a new family of melt-processable high-temperature perfluoroplastics (HTP), the ECCtreme ECA (Epitaxial Co-crystallized Alloy).
The new class of materials can withstand continuous-use temperatures of up to 300°C, well over the barrier of 260˚C for continuous use when tested according to ISO 2578, while offering the benefits typical of such plastics, including chemical and permeation resistance, good dielectric properties, and a low coefficient of friction.
ECCtreme ECA has been classified by UL in class V-0 after mechanical, electrical, and fire test at thicknesses of 0,75mm, and the material has confirmed electrical and mechanical RTI values of 300°C (RTI = Relative Temperature Index to UL 746B as a measure of the thermal aging resistance at elevated temperatures), which is the highest RTI value of all plastics registered in the UL database (UL Component File E54681).
Moulded parts, pipes and hose, as well as sheathings for cables, wires and sensors for very harsh ambient conditions, are among the main applications for ECCtreme ECA.
Examples of possible applications in the chemical industry are pipe, hose and tank linings, valve seats and valve stem packings, and linings for valves, fittings, pumps, flow meters and heat exchangers.
Other potential areas of application include geothermal energy generation, energy production, semiconductor manufacture, the oil and gas industry and the aerospace industry.
Applications in the automotive segment cover cable ducts and protective sheathing for Lambda probes and exhaust gas sensors, which are usually accommodated in a very limited space and are therefore exposed to exceptionally high service temperatures.
The new plastics can be extruded, compression-moulded or injection-moulded on the same machines and with the same productivity as the corresponding standard types of perfluoroplastics.
Heat-tretead ECCtreme ECA offers a melt point around 5°C higher at over 320°C.
According to DuPont, the material has higher thermal resistance, a longer flex life (MIT flexural test), and higher stress crack resistance and permeation resistance than its traditional counterparts, resulting in longer service life.
Alongside the universal grade ECA 3000, DuPont has released ECA 4000, which is intended primarily for wire and cable insulation and offers the lowest viscosity, and ECA 2000, which has the highest viscosity and is well suited to the chemical process industry, with flex life increasing with the viscosity.
