Gaskets are an absolutely integral aspect of the production landscape. When you go into any factory, anywhere in the world, you are going to be introduced to machines that require all sorts of mechanical parts in order to operate effectively. Unknown to your eye, at least at first glance, are the gaskets that help keep the entire machine operational and effective. Gaskets themselves are not typically expensive pieces of equipment, but their importance cannot be stressed enough. Today, we are going to break down gaskets and their uses for vibration dampening and sound reduction. Gaskets, as you will soon find out, are flexible and important tools.
Gaskets for Sound and Vibration Dampening
You could probably spend a week of your life reading up on different types of gaskets and you still wouldn’t have reached the end to all that there is to know about the important sealing devices. Gaskets themselves have been around for over 200 years, since the early 1800’s, and they continue to be used to this day. This is a fact that simply isn’t going to be changing any time soon. Gaskets come in a variety of different shapes and sizes and they are also comprised of different materials for different sorts of jobs. Today’s discussion, as we highlighted above, will be on gaskets for the purpose of dampening vibration.
Why would you be pursuing gaskets in order to help dampen sounds and vibrations? What kinds of fields would this be beneficial in? We’re glad that you asked. Typically, there are certain fields with vibration needs to be reduced in order to allow for the operation of the machine to be smooth in a distraction-free environment. Consider the HVAC field or your automobile, both fields have machines that need to operate within the vicinity of human ears.
The common materials used in gaskets can be discussed all day, but today we are going to limit the material to those that are effective at dampening vibration. The most common materials for dampening vibration are silicone runner, foam, nitrile sponge, and polyurethane as well as rubber. These materials are all perfect for helping to attenuate vibration and thus cut the transmission of sound and vibration. These specific materials help to expand and absorb when struck, thus keeping the vibration and corresponding sound from being launched out into our ears.
The materials we listed above act as a spring and they compress and de-compress when force is exhibited upon them. As such, it is important to find the right quality gaskets that have both the proper material and durability for your chosen job.
A seal fracture is imminent because a gasket has become brittle. The extreme chill has transformed the gasket material into a shadow of its former self. Although all liquefied gasses are moving properly in their pipes and fittings, that system flaw is jeopardizing the whole operation. Beyond question, a freeze resistant gasket should have been fitted. Having said that, is there a material type that can defy such stone-cold conditions?
Phenyl-Formulated Silicone
Most elastomers harden and become less deformable when they encounter subzero fluids. That stiffened seal simply can’t support a pressurized load when the temperature drops this low. Regular silicones are designed to endure when the chill hits -60°C, which is extremely cold. Phenyl silicone keeps on performing, even when the fluid’s temperature hurtles towards -100°C.
PTFE or Teflon Gaskets
Manufactured under the brand name Teflon, Polytetrafluoroethylene based seals perform well when they’re utilized in cryonic cooling environments. Penetrating below -100°C and barreling down towards -185°C, Teflon doesn’t stiffen when these extremes are accessed. Beware, PTFE gaskets do experience creep when they’re pressed into service as low-temperature fluid seals.
Freeze Resistant Tungsten Carbide
For abrasion proof functionality, tungsten carbide is the logical low temperature sealing material. Sintered graphite is often used as a compressible face here, so this is a composite gasket group. Expect to find ceramics and other exotic metals employed as key freeze choking materials when the tungsten carbide catalogue is accessed. Selected when harsh chemicals are present in the cold fluid, the material also endures when abrasive forces are being processed.
All about Grafoil Gaskets
Also known as flexible graphite, Grafoil gaskets retain their operational properties until the deep freeze strikes -240°C. The chemically formed rings conform well to their installation surfaces. However, Grafoil isn’t as pliable as a synthetic polymer, so these gaskets must be manufactured according to a high-tolerance fabrication methodology. Designed to handle wide temperature extremes, Grafoil gaskets do not tolerate misalignment errors.
Low-temperature seals employ natural and synthetic polymers when a liquidized gas manifests a subzero thermal profile. If that thermal reading then drops below -100°C, the joining faces turn to flexible graphite, to composites and exotic metals. Ceramic inserts are also on hand when these gaskets face the brittleness test. The polymers, as expected, are pliable, not stiff, when the flow is supercold. Meanwhile, the harder composite solutions deal with the severest temperature drops, but they must be manufactured precisely, for they won’t adapt when compressed, at least not as well as a synthetic rubber would manage.