Fort Wayne
, Ind.—Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has developed Turcon M12, a PTFE based sealing material that has excellent performance against key hydraulic sealing characteristics such as friction, wear and high-pressure operation.
Testing has shown that Turcon M12 is resistant to virtually all media, including a broad range of lubricants, and has outstanding wear resistance and friction characteristics. The cost-effective material also provides customers with extended seal life, as well as a wide operating window in temperature, pressure and velocity.
“Turcon M12 has exceeded even our expectations, and in our opinion, no other material can give such universally exceptional performance,” said Nancy Getz, product manager. “On almost every parameter it is better than previously recommended compounds—sometimes very significantly—or was at least equal to them. Despite the outstanding performance of many of our sealing materials, we don’t often stand up and say that this is the best in market. But Turcon M12 is truly unrivalled. It can fit virtually all hydraulic applications and meet a more universal range of applications.”
Considerable R&D time was devoted to develop a PTFE material that is compatible with a broad range of lubricants. The material also had to demonstrate minimal wear with excellent friction characteristics at extreme temperatures, high pressures and rapid velocities.
Before its launch, Turcon M12 was put through its paces in the research lab, undergoing an extensive test program comparing it to best-in-class compounds against important sealing parameters. Turcon M12 was developed by Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Helsingør, Denmark, and tested in the R&D labs in Stuttgart, Germany, and Fort Wayne, Ind.
Summary of test results:
Turcon is the Trelleborg Sealing Solutions brand of proprietary Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) sealing materials. The Turcon M12 matrix is medium-filled with a complex mix of non-abrasive mineral fibers combined with additives. With other PTFE based sealing compounds, it was used to produce Turcon Stepseal 2K, Turcon Twinseal, Turcon Stepseal V and Slydring seal configurations. The seals underwent a number of stringent test regimes to measure performance against a variety of sealing parameters critical to the effective performance of seals within hydraulic applications.
Compatibility with mineral oil and environmentally-friendly hydraulic fluid
Mineral oil:
• Matched best-in-class materials
• Lowest friction force of all compounds
• Smallest reduction in seal profile height, giving lowest overall wear and deformation
Environmentally-friendly hydraulic fluids:
• Outstanding results in terms of leakage control
• Friction force extremely good with excellent stability
• Reduction in radial height of the profile comparative with best-in-class materials
• Turcon M12 is now recommended as the material of choice for use with bio oils
Friction mapping – performance at different pressures and speeds
• At all pressures and velocities, the lowest friction force
Friction force Slydring
• After the run-in period, friction lower than for all other compounds tested
• Combined lowest wear and deformation, leading to extended seal life
High-pressure wear test
• Even in this extreme test the seal showed virtually zero wear with no micro-scratching
• Performed better than any other Turcon compound
Wear test – wind turbine pitch cylinder specification
• Only slight polishing of chrome-plated rod with no micro-scratching and no extrusion
• Roughness values stayed very constant, enabling the tribological system between seal contact area and counter surface to run in a defined area
• Surface of the seal showed virtually no wear
Wear test – short stroke, high frequency
• Prevents counter surface scratching
• Even after 1.3 million cycles, the grinding pattern is still visible on the rod
• Only slight polishing of the metal surface and no micro scratching
• Particularly suited to applications where there are short-stroke, high-frequency movements.
