Performance of AFLAS® carbon black filled compounds can be improved by blending with A-Nanbrol® masterbatch.
AFLAS® Fluoroelastomers posses unique advantages over conventional FKM-type fluoroelastomers in demanding applications found in the oil/gas, chemical process, wire and cable, heavy equipment, food handling/pharmaceutical and automotive industries. AFLAS® Fluoroelastomers display outstanding resistance to heat, acids, bases, solvents, ozone, and steam, etc.
When properly formulated, you can expect the following improvements when using A-Nanbrol®.
Improved Hot-Tear strength; Tear strength of the composite blend increases linearly as the A-Nanbrol® content increases. After various exposures, the tear strength of the A-Nanbrol® composite is 2-3 times that of the carbon black AFLAS® compound.
Note that the 100% A-Nanbrol compound achieves better Die C tear results at 200°C than the standard compound does at room temperature.
Ambient versus high temperature tear at various nano-fill levels.
Improved Tensile Properties, particularly at low strain; Tensile strength values for A-Nanbrol®- – AFLAS® blends increase as the blend ratio of % A-Nanbrol® increases. The Figure plots stress-strain relationship for composite blend of A-Nanbrol® 100S (Compound A) and AFLAS® 100S carbon black compound (Compound B).
Shear rate comparison between Aflas, A-Nanbrol, and blended compounds.
Surprising Processability; A-Nanbrol® toughens Aflas® where Aflas® is weakest. And better still, it does so in ways that ensure processability. The uncured A-Nanbrol® compound shows lower viscosity than Aflas® at higher shear rates.
Durometer, Elongation and Compression Set; Some degradation of these properties occurs when mixing high concentrations of A-Nanbrol®. We expect expert compounders will be able to offset these effects to some degree.
Compression set, durometer, and elongation degrade with more A-Nanbrol. Expert compounders can counter this effect.
Update: Recent reports from a third party compounder confirm the ability of expert compounders to ameliorate the compression set effects. In undisclosed conditions, the following data was reported;
Experienced compounders can beat our experimental results quite handily.
A-Nanbrol® comparative data sheet (pdf).
A-Nanbrol® incorporates nano-filler to improve various properties of AFLAS®. It does not incorporate peroxide and co-agent. It is necessary to add peroxide and co-agent to prepare the final compound. Please follow the AGC guidance documents and your own expert compounding advice to develop the most advantageous formulation.
A note about our data
Not all the data presented here is from our lab. Other manufacturers and compounders have participated in the testing of our A-Nanbrol® nano-filled masterbatches. When we test our masterbatches, we use simple compound formulations to minimize the variables we must take into account. Our masterbatch, in the hands of expert compounders, has outperformed even our expectations.