Published
by Rogers Corporation
Elastomeric Material Solutions
For more information, please visit our website.
Selecting the right materials can be a challenge, especially when faced with a whole lot of complex technical terminology. Making informed design choices requires a clear understanding of a material’s unique properties and what makes it ideal for real-world applications.
Rogers, a leader in high-performance materials, offers a wide range of DeWAL® specially- manufactured PTFE and UHMW-PE solutions designed to meet the needs of demanding applications.
To help you better understand these innovative products and make more informed material design choices, we’ve outlined the essential terms you should know when working with PTFE and UHMW-PE tapes and films.
Before diving into the world of these materials, let’s start with a high-level review of the chemistries that are used to manufacture DeWAL products.
DeWAL products focus on two main material chemistries, PTFE and UHMW-PE.
Definition:
PTFE is a high-performance polymer with excellent thermal stability, chemical inertness, and a low coefficient of friction. These properties make it a go-to material for industrial and mission-critical applications. PTFE can sometimes be referred to by one of its brand names, Teflon®.
*Teflon is a trademark of Chemours™
Applications:
Definition:
UHMW-PE is a highly durable polymer known for impact resistance, low friction, and incredible abrasion resistance. Its toughness and longevity make it a good choice for heavy-duty industrial applications.
Applications:
The end products made from these materials can take many different forms depending on the performance goals of the application. The method by which the materials are produced impacts their flexibility, durability, physical properties, and how they are referred to in the industries in which they are used.
Rogers DeWAL PTFE and UHMW-PE products come in one of two primary formats depending on how they’re manufactured.
Sintering is the process of heating resin in its raw material form to eliminate the grain boundaries, which changes the form factor of the materials.
Great…but what does that mean?
You can think of this as baking bread.
How to think about it: When you make bread, you begin with an ingredient list. The list usually includes flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and liquid (but we’ll talk about liquids later).
The dry ingredients of the recipe are similar to PTFE resin; we can press them together and with enough time and pressure they will combine as one, but the mixture is unstable until it is baked. This is where the liquid comes in.
How to remember it: Baking bread is similar to the sintering process as the various components blend together to form a solid.
Where it is used: Applications in which a strong barrier is needed, such as electrical insulation applications.
Makes sense right—but what about unsintered?
How to think about it: Let’s go back to the baking bread analogy and add liquid to the dry components. Once the liquid is added, you’ve formed the dough. The dough is semi-stable but very malleable; it can be stretched and manipulated into different shapes, thicknesses, etc.
In this case, the dough is what unsintered PTFE is like. Although it is held together, the form is not fully stabilized. Stabilization of the form occurs when the dough is made into different products, such as wrapping it around other ingredients to make a calzone and baking it to become dimensionally stable.
How to remember it: Think of unsintered PTFE as dough before it is baked and turned into bread.
Where it is used: Wire and cable wrapping applications where flexible material is required that can be heated to retain its shape.
PTFE resin is like the dry ingredients for bread, which are pressed together to combine as one.
Unsintered PTFE is not in its final form and is not fully stabilized, like dough before it is baked.
The sintering status of a material directly impacts how it handles. For this reason, sintered and unsintered materials are often referred to differently in their final format.
Let's talk more about bread.
How to think about it: Remember that when we hold the ingredients together with enough time and pressure and then bake, we get a solid loaf of bread. But to eat the bread, we usually slice it before using it to make something else. Slicing the bread is basically what happens with a skived film. A skived film is sliced from a solid cylinder of PTFE or UHMW-PE, creating thin, smooth layers with precise thickness… similar to a slice of bread.
How to remember it: Skiving = slicing a finished loaf of bread.
What we call it: Skived films are thin sheets or tapes sliced from a solid PTFE cylinder. Skived PTFE and UHMW-PE materials are often referred to as films. These film materials offer the benefit of extremely thin profile offerings with very precise thickness tolerances and smooth surfaces.
Where it is used: Ideal for gaskets or electrical insulation applications where thin, flexible layers are required.
How to think about it: Extrusion, on the other hand, is like rolling out dough. Extruding film does not use a sintering process until after the film has been made. In many cases it will not be sintered until it is turned into a finished product (remember that calzone?). In extrusion we are only working with the dough. We use the liquid to reach the right consistency and force the dough through an extrusion process and use a roller to get it to the right thickness. From here the material gets rolled up and shipped to the baker.
How to remember it: Extrusion = rolling out dough.
What we call it: Extruded films are manufactured by forcing the material through a die, yielding consistent shapes and lengths. In the context of DeWAL materials, these are often unsintered thin PTFE-based materials referred to as “tapes” in the industry. However, extruded material can take many different shapes and forms.
Where it is used: Ideal for tubing or liner applications where durability and uniformity are required.
Thin sheets of PTFE are skived from a solid cylinder, like slicing bread from a loaf.
To recap:
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Sintered Unsintered Skived ExtrudedWhether you're looking for temperature-resistant PTFE, durable UHMW-PE, or a specific type of adhesive backing, having a good grasp of the basic terminology will help you make the best material choice for your unique needs. Find more information about DeWAL products.
For more information on the DeWAL product line, reach out to a Rogers Sales Engineer.
In Part 2, we’ll explore how DeWAL materials can be further enhanced through techniques like expansion, conductive layering, and adhesive integration to meet more specialized application requirements.
Related Products:
DeWAL Products
Published on Jul 09,
The Dragon UHMWPE Lined Steel Pipe is a specialized pipeline developed by Dragon UHMWPE. It consists of a steel pipe with an Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) liner, combining the strength of steel with the durability of UHMWPE.
Construction: The UHMWPE liner is inserted into the steel pipe using shrinkage technology, ensuring a tight fit. The steel pipe serves as the outer layer to withstand pressure, while the UHMWPE liner acts as the inner layer, providing exceptional resistance to wear and extending the pipe's service life.
Sealing Design: The sealing face of the UHMWPE lined steel pipe is a UHMWPE stub. This stub is formed by flanging and heating the UHMWPE liner itself, ensuring a seamless and reliable sealing interface.
Connection Method: The pipes are connected via the UHMWPE stub sealing face and steel flanges. These flanges are welded to the ends of the steel pipe, creating a secure and robust connection.
This innovative design ensures high performance in demanding applications, making Dragon UHMWPE Lined Steel Pipes an excellent choice for industries requiring durability and reliability in pipeline systems.
High pressurre holding capacity.
Abrasion resistance.
Impact resistance.
Anti corrosion
Less friction loss.
With the above properties of UHMWPE liner, the mainly application of Dragon UHMWPE lined steel pipe is for mine tailings transport as tailings pipeline. In the mining industry, transporting tailings—the waste materials left after the extraction of valuable minerals—presents a significant challenge. The solution to this challenge lies in choosing the right pipeline material, as tailings can be abrasive, corrosive, and prone to causing erosion and wear on traditional mining pipeline systems. Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) lined steel pipe has emerged as a reliable, cost-effective solution to address these issues, offering a long-lasting and durable option for mine tailings pipelines.
When uhmwpe pipes used as mining pipeline, there are pressure derating when temperature gets higher, besides that, UHMWPE pipe has pressure holding ability limitations for transport pipeline. UHMWPE lined steel pipes are just invented to fulfill the above limitations of UHMWPE pipes.
In the history of lined steel pipes for mine tailings transport, there are rubber lined steel pipe, HDPE lined steel pipe, ceramic lined steel pipe, polyurethane lined steel pipe. Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) lined steel pipes and conventional pipelines differ in several key aspects when used as mine tailings pipeline. These differences revolve around material properties, performance, durability, and overall cost-effectiveness in harsh mining environments.
1. Compared to conventional HDPE lined steel pipe, Dragon UHMWPE lined steel pipe as mining slurry transport with the following advantages, a higher abrasion resistance performance and a higher impact resistance.
2. Compared to rubber lined steel pipe, ceramic lined steel pipe and polyurethane lined steel pipe, Dragon UHMW PE lined steel pipe with a much excellent performance of anti-scaling, and anti-corrosion, with a much preferred cost effectiveness.
With the above key differences between UHMWPE lined steel pipe and other conventional pipelines, there are several key specifications must be tailored to the specific requirements of the slurry being transported. Below are the primary specifications that need to be considered.
● Pipe diameter and length:
The diameter of the steel pipe and uhmwpe lining should be chosen based on slurry flow volume, The pipe length depends on the distance over which the slurry needs to be transported. Long distances may require specialized pipe joints, connectors, or expansion provisions.
● UHMWPE liner thickness:
The thickness of the UHMWPE liner must be sufficient to withstand the abrasive nature of the slurry. Generally, the thicker the lining, the longer the lifespan of the pipe. Typical thicknesses range from 5 mm to 15 mm, but for more abrasive slurries, a thicker lining may be required (up to 25 mm or more in some cases). A thicker UHMWPE lining is better at resisting wear from the abrasive particles in the slurry. It's important to match the lining thickness with the expected wear rates for the slurry material being transported.
● Steel Pipe Material and Strength:
The choice of steel for the outer pipe (usually carbon steel or alloy steel) should be selected based on the mechanical stress and the external conditions the pipe will face (such as temperature, pressure, and environmental factors). High-strength steel may be required for high-pressure applications.
The wall thickness of the steel pipe should be designed to withstand internal pressure, external loads, and possible mechanical impacts. This thickness will be determined by the pressure rating required for the slurry transport system.
● End connections and fittings:
The pipe must be fitted with appropriate connections, such as flanged ends, butt-weld fittings, or other customized joint systems. Special attention must be paid to ensuring that the UHMWPE lining is properly connected and sealed at the joints to prevent leaks.
Due to the thermal expansion of both the steel and UHMWPE, expansion joints or compensators may need to be customized to accommodate changes in pipe length due to temperature fluctuations.
● Pressure rating:
The customized pipe must be designed to handle the expected internal pressure of the slurry transport system, including any pressure spikes. UHMWPE lining has to be matched with a steel pipe strong enough to withstand such conditions.
Based on the slurry properties (e.g., if it’s a high-density slurry or under high pressure), the pipe's pressure class must be customized. This ensures the pipeline won’t rupture or deform under pressure.
● Temperature resistance:
UHMWPE has good performance at temperatures ranging from -150°C to 80°C (-238°F to 176°F), but the slurry temperature may vary. For higher temperature applications, alternative linings might be required, or special consideration must be given to the maximum operating temperature to avoid degradation of the UHMWPE material.
● Weight and Handling considerations:
Lightweight Design: Since UHMWPE is much lighter than conventional metal linings, this can ease the handling and installation process. However, the steel pipe's weight must still be carefully balanced to ensure strength and stability in transport and installation.
● Leakage prevention:
Sealing Mechanism: Special care must be taken at the junctions where the UHMWPE lining and the steel pipe meet to ensure an airtight and leakproof seal. This can include flanged connections with a solid gasket, or welding the lining in place, depending on the application.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website UHMWPE Lined Tubing.