Key Factors for Choosing Sealing Materials for Industrial Valves

In the industrial sector, selecting the right sealing materials for industrial valves is crucial for ensuring operational stability and safety of equipment. Industrial valves, as essential components for controlling and regulating fluid flow, directly impact process efficiency and environmental safety through their sealing performance. To ensure reliable sealing under various operating conditions, a comprehensive understanding and evaluation of different material performance indicators are essential.
 

Tensile Performance: Ensuring Strength and Flexibility

Tensile performance is paramount in the consideration of sealing materials, involving the strength and deformation capabilities during stretching.

Tensile Strength: This is the maximum stress a sample can withstand before breaking under tension. Higher tensile strength typically indicates greater resistance to fractures under stress.
Elongation at Break: Represents the material's ability to deform during stretching, expressed as the ratio of lengths before and after stretching. Higher elongation rates generally signify good ductility.
Modulus of Elasticity: Also known as the tensile modulus, it reflects the material's stiffness and elasticity within a defined elongation range.
Elongation at Yield: Refers to the strain capacity of the material at the point of yield. Higher elongation rates indicate greater plastic deformation capability before breaking.
Necking: The residual deformation between the fracture surfaces post-fracture, influencing the material's performance after failure.
 

Hardness: Resisting Wear and External Forces

Hardness is crucial for assessing a sealing material's ability to resist external forces and wear, serving as a fundamental performance indicator.

Materials with higher hardness typically exhibit greater compression resistance and wear resistance, though this may increase brittleness and reduce elongation and performance at low temperatures.
 

Compression Performance: Maintaining Long-Term Seal Integrity

Rubber sealing components in industrial valves often operate under compression, requiring materials to maintain sealing performance over extended periods.

Compression Set: Due to viscoelastic properties, materials experience gradual stress relaxation after compression, directly affecting their sealing capacity under high temperatures and prolonged use.
Permanent Deformation: Refers to the inability of a sample to fully recover its original shape after being compressed. In practical applications, this deformation can lead to reduced sealing effectiveness.
 

Low-Temperature Performance: Ensuring Reliability in Cold Environments

Assessing a sealing material's ability to perform in low-temperature environments is crucial, especially under freezing and cold conditions.

Low-Temperature Rebound: Determines the temperature at which a stretched sample, cooled and fixed at a certain length, begins to rebound during warming. Indicators like TR10, TR30, TR50, and TR70 denote temperatures at specific rebound percentages.
Low-Temperature Flexibility: Evaluates the material's deformation and fatigue performance under dynamic loads at specified low temperatures, reflecting its lifespan and stability in cold conditions.
 

Oil and Chemical Resistance: Safeguarding Against Media Exposure

Industrial valve sealing materials frequently encounter various media, including petroleum, chemicals, and acidic solutions. Their resistance to these substances directly affects material lifespan and safety in chemical environments.

Exposure to these media can cause volume expansion, strength reduction, and changes in material quality, impacting sealing effectiveness and service life.
 

Aging Resistance: Sustaining Performance Over Time

Materials exposed to environmental factors like oxygen, ozone, heat, light, and moisture over extended periods can experience performance degradation, known as aging.

Aging Resistance (or Weather Resistance): Measured by evaluating changes in strength, elongation, and hardness after aging. A lower rate of change indicates higher stability of the material in harsh environments.

In conclusion, conducting meticulous performance evaluations of industrial valve sealing materials, focusing on tensile performance, hardness, compression capability, low-temperature adaptability, chemical resistance, and aging resistance, is crucial for selecting the most suitable materials for industrial applications. These evaluations not only enhance equipment stability and durability but also effectively reduce maintenance costs and minimize potential risks of production interruptions. Through scientific material selection and regular performance monitoring, industrial valves can maintain efficient and safe operation over the long term.