Closing the Fluoro Elastomers High Temperature Gap: New Developments in Fluorosilicone Rubber

As rubber applications continue to evolve and require higher temperature performance and higher resistance against fuels and oils, many industries, including automotive, aviation, and oil & gas, are looking beyond traditional materials for solutions. Applications include everything from turbocharger hose lining, to blow back preventer seals, to gaskets for airplane hydraulic systems. FKM (fluorocarbon rubber) and FVMQ (fluorosilicone rubber) have historically been used in these applications.  Many of the applications requiring the highest temperature resistance have used FKM. The temperature range traditionally for FVMQ has been -60 to 220°C. However, recent advancements in FVMQ technology have resulted in higher service temperature performance up to 240°C with peak temperatures to 250°C. 

This advancement, in addition to greater stability of properties over a wide temperature range compared to FKM, has allowed FVMQ to now be used in higher temperature applications where FVMQ has not been considered in the past. In addition, use of FVMQ provides 25% lower density, allowing for better weight savings and lower material usage. This paper will focus on the development of improved properties of FVMQ, showing comparisons to traditional FVMQ and FKM materials. We will compare these materials to the newly developed FVMQs with higher heat stability, showing test results for physical properties measured at elevated temperature (up to 200°C), aging performance in automotive fluids (fuels and oils), adhesion performance to VMQ (as it relates to co-extrusion application), as well as acid-gas resistance. This paper will show how we can design FVMQ elastomers to precisely meet specific application requirements, while meeting or exceeding FKM performance properties.