Seals for oil and gas industries

25 November 2010

Kalrez 0090 perfluoroelastomer O-ring seal products from DuPont Performance Polymers are now available from the UK sealing specialists Dichtomatik. These products have been developed by DuPont to provide outstanding resistance to rapid gas decompression (RGD) combined with broad chemical resistance, as experienced in the harsh environments of the oil and gas industries.

Seals for oil and gas industries

As an official authorised distributor of DuPont Kalrez products, Dichtomatik provide a first class service and can also offer full technical support for customers experiencing sealing problems involving extreme temperature or pressure conditions combined with aggressive fluids.

DuPont products have an established reputation for delivering durable and reliable sealing solutions for both downhole and surface-level equipment such as packers, pumps and valves as well as many general chemical handling and processing applications. Kalrez 0090 has achieved the highest ‘0000’ rating in the NORSOK M-710 Rev 2 tests recently conducted in the UK by the independent Materials Engineering Research Laboratory (MERL). It was established that Kalrez 0090 has outstanding resistance to RGD, with no cracks or blisters having developed on the O-ring sections throughout the test cycling.

In addition to finished O-rings, Kalrez 0090 can be supplied in the form of flat washers, discs, cords or special mouldings for all applications that require the highest ‘0000’ rating for RGD resistance. Additional properties that ensure superior performance include high resistance to chemical attack from more than 1,800 chemicals and solvents, especially sour multi-phase fluids containing H2S (as shown by the external NORSOK M-710 Rev 2 Sour Fluid ageing resistance certification provided by MERL-UK). High-temperature resistance up to 250°C (482°F) is maintained with high levels of elasticity and recovery even after long-term exposure. High modulus at low elongation properties also ensure excellent extrusion resistance.

The NORSOK M-710 testing conditions included 100% CO2 gas composition, with 100°C temperature, 15MPa pressure and a decompression rate of 12MPa/min. Sealing products with ratings poorer than the maximum achieved by the Kalrez 0090 seals are likely to suffer cracking or blisters when exposed to pressure cycling. Once initiated, cracks then accumulate with subsequent pressure cycles, leading to eventual seal failure.