General Properties, Features and Applications of Nitrile Rubber

Jan 02, 2019 Rubber Seals | Oil Seals | Material

Nitrile Butadiene Rubber or NBR is a popular elastomer that is produced from a copolymer of acrylonitrile and butadiene. This versatile rubber material, owing to its several superior features and properties, is widely used in a number of applications across industries. It is one of the very sought after sealing materials due to its capability to resist oil, fuel, grease, water, air and flame retardant liquids (HFA, HFB, HFC). There are several things you must know about this synthetic rubber, and this is what exactly is covered in this post.

General Properties of Nitrile Rubber

The physical and chemical properties of NBR vary in part with the polymer’s composition of nitrile. However, the material exhibits the following properties in general.

Hardness: 85 +/- 5 shore
Modulus 100%: Greater than or Equal to 1595 psi
Tensile strength: Greater than or Equal to 2465 psi
Elongation at break: Greater than or Equal to 150%
Tear Strength: Greater than or Equal to 102 lbf/inch
Specific Gravity: 1.28 g/cm3
Rebound Elasticity: Greater than or Equal to 20%
Abrasion: 100 mm3
Compression Set: Less than or Equal to 5%
Compression Set: Less than or Equal to 6%
Service Temperature: -22 deg. F
Service Temperature: 230 deg. F
Low-Temperature Range: 70º F to 0º F
Minimum for Continuous Use (Static): 40º F
Brittle Point: 70° F to 0º F
Maximum for Continuous Use (Static): + 250º F

Why Choose Nitrile Rubber Seals

The seals manufactured from NBR or Buna-N are the best option for applications involving highly polar solvents such as acetone, MEK, ozone, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and nitro hydrocarbons. What else add to the popularity of Nitrile Rubber seals, here they are listed;

Nitrile Rubber Seals possesses:

Excellent abrasion resistance
Good rebound, tear resistance, and non-polar solvent resistance
Good water and oil resistance.
Good resistance to gas permeability
Good elongation properties and excellent compression set resistance
Adequate resilience and tensile strength
Good resistance to aliphatic hydrocarbons
Excellent adhesion to metal and rigid materials
Excellent colorability

Applications of Nitrile butadiene Rubber Seals

Due to its ability to be compounded with several other materials, Nitrile Butadiene Rubber is chosen for numerous applications, and the most important amongst them is as the sealing material. The material is used to make food grade seals, water-cut seals, oil seals, O-rings, and other industrial seals. Due to its strong resistance to heat aging and several other features listed above, Nitrile Rubber Seals are widely chosen for endless applications across industries including:

Automotive
Nuclear
Power generation
Food processing
Medical
Aerospace

Rather than using as a sealing material, Nitrile butadiene Rubber goes into the manufacturing of:

Roll covers
Hydraulic Hoses
Conveyor Belting
Graphic arts
Oilfield packers
Plumbing materials
Injection or transfer molded products
Extruded hose or tubing
Floor mats and industrial belting
Various sponge articles

Would you like to have seals made from this durable Nitrile Rubber for your applications? Consider sourcing the seals made from Nitrile Butadiene Rubber or NBR from trusted manufacturers who possess in-depth knowledge about sealing materials. SSP Manufacturing Inc. is one such leading names that provide NBR seals in standard and metric sizes to meet the requirements of industries. The company combines nitrile rubber with PVC to produce seals that offer better resistance to aging, flame, petrol, and ozone. These nitrile rubber seals also offer low-temperature flexibility and resilience when compared to other competitor products.