R&D SPOTLIGHT
TRELLEBORG’S SEAL MATERIALS TESTED FOR OPTIMUM HFC PERFORMANCE
Above: Testing revealed the importance of fluid type and material choice in ensuring optimum seal performance and service life.
As the oil and gas industry moves to recover more challenging reserves and enters the development of High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) fields, the risk of fire is increasing.
There is therefore a move to the use of water-based hydraulic fluids, which present significant sealing challenges. To ensure sealing performance is maintained in water-based hydraulic fluids, it is imperative that operators understand the effects of high-temperature exposure of sealing materials within water-based hydraulic fluids. Until now, these two elements have not been thoroughly tested together at high temperatures.
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has carried out a series of tests to show the importance of fluid type and seal material choice in “ensuring optimum seal performance and service life”.
Oil and gas hydraulic applications often involve demanding dynamic movements. For instance, sealing systems in offshore motion compensation cylinders can be subjected to significant wear due to long strokes.
Compared to oil-based HLP media, the water base of HFC fluids typically produces different reactions within the traditional sealing materials used in these applications. The different reactions can
range from lower lubricity relative to dynamic sealing elements, to corrosion concerns of supporting metal hardware, to compatibly with sealing polymers. This can shorten seal life and potentially increase downtime for operators.
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, which has been making highly developed seals for over 30 years, worked with fluid producer MacDermid to test the effect of water glycol (HFC) fluids on common seal materials.
Together the engineers for both companies tested seven seal materials which were immersed in water glycol fluids at a range of elevated temperatures up to +200°C / +392°F.
The results have been published in a comprehensive white paper on the subject which will be available to collect from Trelleborg on stand 1928 at OTC 2017 in Houston, Texas from May 01 to May 04.
Each seal and fluid combination was tested for hardness change, tensile strength change, strain change and volume change. All physical changes were documented using before and after photos.
Above: Trelleborg worked with fluid producer MacDermid to test the effect of water glycol fluids on common seal materials.
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www.sosmagazine.biz | May 2017
David Brown, Global Lead Group Director, Oil & Gas, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, says:
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