For extremely low temperatures: High-performance sealing materials for temperatures down to –50°C

In order to ensure that hydraulically operated machinery and equipment remains leak-free and can operate without malfunctions even under extreme conditions, Stauff offers special sealing materials upon request that can be used in static applications down to –50°C for most of their products. The components of the Werdohl-based manufacturer of fluid technology products that are so equipped are used, for example, on snowcats and other mobile equipment in polar regions and in the mountains as well as on floor conveyors in industrial cold stores.

Products from the Stauff range that are available with low-temperature seals include visual and electrical level gauges in the SNA, SNK and SNKK series, which are used to determine the fluid level of hydraulic reservoirs at a single glance. Test couplings with port connection from the Stauff Test product family, as well as clogging indicators of type HI, are also suitable for use in extreme conditions. The former provide leak-free monitoring of the operating pressure in hydraulic systems, while the latter – functioning as accessories for hydraulic filters – are able to identify the condition of filter elements based on the differential pressure between the contaminated and the clean side.

Various low-temperature materials are available depending on the temperature range during deployment, the media used and the type of application (static or dynamic loading of the seals). When selecting a suitable sealing material and evaluating the sealing behaviour, the temperature retraction value TR10 according to ASTM D 1329 and ISO 2921 is the most meaningful benchmark from the perspective of the users. The TR10 value describes the resilience of elastomers and provides a specific temperature value at which a sample that is stretched by 100% has re-deformed by 10% after being frozen. A TR10 value of –40°C thus indicates that the specimen still has 90% of its initial stretching at this temperature.

Put into practice, this means that even seals that are deployed dynamically and are exposed to pressure at extreme temperatures provide reliable and secure sealing up to the TR10 value. For static applications, O-rings have been shown to fulfil their purpose at well below this temperature value.

In addition to the determination of the TR10 value, which is usually defined using a standard specimen, Stauff uses additional practice-oriented test routines: At the in-house Technology Centre in Werdohl (Germany), the company can test components and entire assemblies and their functioning over long terms and under extreme temperature loads. If required, these can also be well below –50°C.

About STAUFF

Walter Stauffenberg GmbH & Co. KG was founded in the 1950s in Werdohl, in the German province of North Rhine-Westphalia, and was initially a contract turning shop. Today the company operates under the trade name STAUFF, developing, producing and marketing fluid technology components for use in plant construction and mechanical engineering. In the fields of tube, pipe and hose clamps, measuring technology and hydraulic filtration, STAUFF is one of the world’s leading organisations in a growing industrial segment.

Meanwhile, more than 1200 employees (12/2011) in 16 companies generate an annual turnover of more than EUR 180 million (12/2011) worldwide. Additional distribution subsidiaries have recently been opened in Russia, Ireland and Malaysia. Besides the group headquarters in Werdohl Ehrenfeld, the company has production and logistics facilities in the German cities of Plettenberg-Ohle and Neuenrade-Küntrop.

P.O. Box 1745
58777 Werdohl
Im Ehrenfeld 4
58791 Werdohl
Germany

Mr Boris Mette
Public Relations / Marketing
E-Mail: b.mette@stauff.com
Tel.: +49 (0) 2392/ 916-154
Fax: +49 (0) 2392/ 916-4154

This release was published on openPR.