Advantages

  • Broad hardness range
  • Excellent flex fatigue and impact resistance
  • Excellent resistance to acids, bases, and aqueous media
  • Good retention of properties despite swelling caused by exposure to hydrocarbons based fluids
  • Heat resistance is superior to that of styrenic block copolymers
  • Very robust processability window
  • Excellent balance of performance and price

Limitations

  • Relatively poor wear resistance
  • Exposure to hydrocarbons causes swelling
  • Moderate heat resistance
  • Do not accept large amounts of fillers

Overview

Thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers provide an excellent balance of performance and price. They are available in a broad range of hardnesses, have excellent chemical resistance to acids, bases and other aqueous media and have good property retention despite the swelling caused by exposure to hydrocarbon fluids. Their service temperature range is from -60 to 275 degrees F (-50 to 135 degrees C); hardness ranges from 35 Shore A to 50 Shore D.

RTP Technologies that can be applied to thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers include: custom colors, specific gravity adjustment, anti-static and conductivity modification, flame retardancy, UV resistance, anti-microbial enhancements, wear resistant lubrication, and modified substrate adhesion for overmolding.