Fluoropolymers in Transport

A very large number of parts used in transport vehicles, passenger cars and motorbikes and airplanes either contains or is coated with Everflon™ fluoropolymers. They include sealing components, such as gaskets and O-rings, seals and guide elements for hydraulic cylinders, hoses and cables with fluoropolymer insulation. They are also used as dry lubricants and lubricant additives.

Everflon™ Fluoropolymers are used in the transport sector primarily due to their resistance and low friction properties, as well as due to their resistance to swelling and permeability. Fluoropolymers reduce evaporative emissions contributing to cleaner environment.

The very high durability of Everflon™ fluoropolymers makes them critical safety materials in the whole transportation sector, including automotive, rail, marine, aviation and aerospace. Everflon™ fluoropolymers are used in a broad range of applications in transportation ensuring that vehicles continue to operate without breakdowns or critical, and potentially life-threatening, failures throughout their intended service life.

The excellent chemical compatibility of fluoropolymers makes them highly resistant to fuel, oils and cooling or other fluids, and they can maintain their function over a very long life span. They are preferred by the industry for their performance and for ensuring that the vehicle will operate safely for the passengers or goods carried.

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The components relevant to the transport sector are primarily safety components and, in general, operate at harsh conditions, such as high temperatures and pressures, in presence of chemical agents (oil, fuel, coolants, etc.), water. With regards to automotive, many components based on fluoropolymers are instrumental to the vehicle emission control (CO2 and NOX) and to the reduction of the fuel consumption in compliance with the latest standards of Euro6 and Euro7. A non-exhaustive list of applications for Everflon™ fluoropolymers in the transport and aerospace sector is below:

• Components of electrical vehicles, such as electric motors, cables for electrical gears and Li-ion batteries, which are essential for the EU to meet its decarbonisation goals until 2050.

• In every Li-Ion battery, Everflon™ PVDF is used as binder in the cathode and separator coating and often even as key material for the separators.

• Perfluorinated ionomers are used as membrane and electrode binder materials in fuel cell catalyst coated membranes (CCMs) and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) which are components in fuel cell stacks in fuel cell engines-in automotive

• Wires and cables for energy and data distribution (for communication and systems’ control) in land vehicles and aircraft. Cables for Aircrafts, flight commands for Aircrafts, Satellites, e-VTOL, Drones, communication applications, radars, optronics systems.

• Cables in land vehicle catalysts and NOx, oxygen and lambda sensors which monitor the vehicles emissions and carbon footprint, contributing to emission control.

• Magnet wire wrap in traction motors and associated powertrain.

• Land vehicle and railway wheel bearing seals and in general seals protecting automotive bearings.

• Sensors (pedal, battery, oil, radar, rain-light, ABS NOx, Oxygen, Temperature)

• Propulsion, stern tube and thruster seals in marine vessels

• Special applications such as optical, probes, detection and embarked systems monitoring.

• Safety wires used in aircraft engines in high temperature areas. In addition, conventional manual flight controls have been replaced by an electronic system which has as primary benefit weight reduction. PTFE as insulation provides excellent electrical resistance combined with fire resistance and low smoke.

• Components such as seals, hoses and wiring needed to withstand extreme temperatures and aggressive chemicals in aircraft. Chemicals that the equipment must be durable against include jet fuel, engine lubrication oils, hydraulic fluids, rocket propellants and oxidizers. They must be able to do so at extreme (both very high and very low) temperatures.

• Aircraft interior may also be coated with fluoropolymer film, to facilitate safety, cleaning and anti-fouling over a long life span. The fluoropolymer coating also offers fire-retardant properties.

Why Automotive need Everflon™

• Heat resistance and temperature stability are essential properties for automotive applications, where the parts are exposed to very high temperatures.

• Everflon™ fluoropolymer components are also exposed to harsh chemicals, such as oils and fuels, including biofuels which may contain high level of alcohol (methanol, ethanol) and environmental conditions (humidity, soil / dirt). Their high chemical compatibility ensures the right level of performance and safety of all the critical parts (engine, fuel systems, emission control systems, thermal management, transmissions). Moreover, they also protect the metal and plastic surfaces of the vehicle components.

• Hybrid vehicles technologies combine both the combustion engine technology and the Battery technology and fluoropolymers like ETFE and PVDF are critical to ensure the needed level of performance and safety in the key components.

• The low coefficient of friction is an essential property for moving parts, as it contributes to increased durability of the parts and reduces energy and fuel use.

Rail transport and Everflon™

In rail transport, Everflon™ fluoropolymers incorporated into wire wraps enables the high voltage, high current density motor designs used in high-speed rail motors. It provides insulation resistance around the magnetic wires in motor cores that are able to withstand the high electric field strengths in those applications where motors are running at voltages of up to 2000V AC and 3300V DC. Motors operate continuously at temperatures above 200°C, and so the wire jacket properties must be maintained in this temperature range.

Aerospace

For aerospace applications, wire insulation jackets must remain flexible and functional throughout their service lives (lasting more than 30 years) at temperatures that cycle from -50°C to +200°C. The wire insulation must exhibit abrasion and fire resistance so that short-circuits cannot develop into fires.

Everflon™ Fluoropolymers are widely used in commercial and military airplanes, due to their excellent thermal stability that helps insulate the cables that run through the aircraft, their superior resistance to aging, radiation and fire and their chemical compatibility, which allows the safe and durable flow of fuel and other aircraft fluids.

Atmosphere

Beyond the earth’s atmosphere,Everflon™ fluoropolymer components are essential for the functioning of satellites and spacecraft, due to their durability, reliability and conductivity. For example, fluoropolymers used in the construction of the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, helped reduce the risk of component failures owing to their superior thermal stability (up to 300 °C), lasting bend / twist flexibility and best-in-class dielectric properties.

Fluoropolymers in Transport

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