Greene Tweed Receives Patent for Rapid Gas Decompression-Resistant Fluoroelastomers and Molded Articles

The U.S. Patent Office has awarded Greene Tweed Patent Number 10,011,690 for Rapid Gas Decompression-Resistant Fluoroelastomer Compositions and Molded Articles. The innovative elastomer technology was developed by a team that included inventor Ron Campbell, PhD, Principal Scientist and Technology Leader for Elastomers in Greene Tweed’s Advanced Technology Group, to provide a competitive advantage in the Energy market and expand technology protected under a previous patent.

Rapid gas decompression (RGD) often occurs when high-pressure gas molecules migrate into an elastomer at a compressed state. When the pressure surrounding the elastomer is suddenly released, the compressed gas inside the elastomer tries to expand and exit the elastomer, thus causing RGD (also known as explosive decompression). Most elastomers experience severe blistering or cracking when the force of these expanding gases overcome the strength of the surrounding material; however, materials engineered to withstand RGD are more likely to maintain their integrity in the application.

RGD-resistant elastomers are widely used as seals and gaskets in compressors and down-hole applications where seals could encounter long soak times in high-pressure gases. Leaks and excessive cracking can lead to unnecessary downtime associated with unplanned maintenance, causing health, safety, and environmental issues and significant lost production time.

RGD-resistant elastomeric seals are generally optimized for seal designs with cross-sectional diameters less than 5.44 millimeters. This patent protects Greene Tweed’s technology for compounding and curing fluorocarbon elastomer seals with cross-sections that approach or exceed 10 millimeters, enabling us to offer superior reliability in larger seal cross-sections exposed to RGD environments.

The International Standards Organization’s ISO 23936-2:2011(E) and NORSOK M-710 serve as Oil & Gas industry benchmarks for RGD resistance. ISO and NORSOK also evaluate seal performance in an RGD environment.

Greene Tweed’s NORSOK M-710 and ISO 23936-2:2011 qualified materials include Chemraz^® 526, 678, and 566, and Fusion™ FKM 938 and 944.

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About Greene Tweed

Greene Tweed is a leading global manufacturer of high-performance seals and engineered components.

With 150+ years of technical expertise and commercial knowledge in a variety of markets, Greene Tweed collaborates with customers to develop innovative solutions that meet challenging performance requirements and reduce total cost of ownership.

We offer worldwide design and manufacturing expertise, solving your critical challenges through the development of custom-designed, leading-edge components.

Greene Tweed products are sold and distributed worldwide.

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Contact information

Greene Tweed
Chris Aldred
Corporate Marketing
+1.267.932.5389
caldred@gtweed.com