TPE compound granules applications
What is TPE?
Made up of soft and hard domains, TPEs are multiphase materials in their solid state. Some engineers may wonder why they’re rubbery – and there’s a very good reason for this.
The temperature range and unique design of a TPE is determined by its glass transition temperature during the rubbery phase, as well as the melt temperature or glass transition during the hard phase of its manufacture.
Containing more than one type of polymer – an elastomer which is responsible for giving a material its elastic properties – TPE compounds, or TPE-S, as it’s sometimes known, can be used for a variety of purposes in the world of engineering. Some of TPEs applications include:
Food
Since anything that comes into contact with food needs food-contact approval via the country it’ll be used and sold in, food-contact approved TPEs are ideal for making components for baby food. Think miniature spoons or toddler cup spouts.
O-rings
Conventionally made from thermoset rubbers, TPE sealing rings can be coloured or white. They can be co-moulded to make two component seals and they’re much more efficient in terms of their manufacture. They’re also environmentally friendly, because they use less energy than thermoset rubbers and can be made in less time.
Medical and health care
We all know that healthcare applications must meet strict, regulatory standards. This is where TPEs come in, as they can be sterilised using ethylene oxide, autoclaves or gamma irradiation. Elsewhere, they can be manufactured to offer high purity and be biocompatible, as well as offering an alternative to silicone, PVC, rubber or latex.
Cap and closure liners
Conveniently acting as a seal between the bottle’s contents and the external environment for metal crows and plastic caps, bottle cap liners tend to be manufactured from PVC. That said, TPE liners offer a host of benefits over PVC. One of them is the fact that they protect against oxygen transmission. It’s worth knowing that TPEs can be designed for everything from cap and closure liners in milk to the very same for carbonated soft drinks.
热塑性弹性体由软畴和硬畴组成，是固态的多相材料。有些工程师可能会想，为什么它们有弹性——这是有充分理由的。
TPE的温度范围和独特设计取决于其在橡胶阶段的玻璃化转变温度，以及其制造的硬阶段的熔融温度或玻璃化转变。
含有一种以上类型的聚合物——一种负责赋予材料弹性性能的弹性体——TPE化合物，或称TPE-S，有时被称为TPE-S——可以用于工程领域的各种目的。TPE的一些应用程序包括：
食物
由于任何与食品接触的东西都需要通过其使用和销售的国家获得食品接触批准，因此食品接触批准的TPE是制造婴儿食品成分的理想选择。想想微型勺子或蹒跚学步的杯子。
O形圈
TPE密封圈通常由热固性橡胶制成，可以是彩色或白色。它们可以共同成型，制成两个部件的密封件，而且在制造方面效率更高。它们也对环境友好，因为它们比热固性橡胶消耗更少的能量，而且可以在更短的时间内制造出来。
医疗保健
我们都知道，医疗保健应用程序必须符合严格的监管标准。这就是热塑性弹性体的用武之地，因为它们可以使用环氧乙烷、高压灭菌器或伽马射线进行消毒。在其他地方，它们可以提供高纯度和生物相容性，也可以提供硅树脂、PVC、橡胶或乳胶的替代品。
盖子和闭合衬垫
瓶盖内衬往往由PVC制成，可以方便地作为瓶子内容物与外部环境之间的密封件，用于金属乌鸦和塑料盖。也就是说，TPE内衬比PVC有很多优点。其中之一是它们可以防止氧气传播。值得一提的是，TPE可以设计用于从牛奶中的瓶盖和封口内衬到碳酸软饮料的所有产品。
