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Steam Flon Gaskets

Ultrapharma has developed the material Steam-Flon® for sanitary gaskets and some other innovative products. This material is a unique blend of non-pigmented PTFE and 316L stainless steel powder. The mechanical properties of this compound are very interesting because it virtually eliminates the cold flow problems we experience with, for example, virgin PTFE gaskets.

Cold Flow

Cold flow is the term we use for the movement of plastic under permanent load/stress, a state that is used with static seals. Cold flow increases at elevated temperatures. Material of the gasket is slowly moving towards the inside of the fitting and creates a bead. This bead leads to flow restriction and is a potential area for particles/bacterial entrapment. The Steam-Flon® material takes the cold flow out of the equation, creating a very stable seal with no leaks even at large temperature fluctuations.

For Steam-Flon material the specification is:

Deformation under Load 14 MPa – 24 hrs @ 23°C = 5%

For standard PTFE it is:

Deformation under Load 14 MPa – 24 hrs @ 23°C = 15%

Recommended Torque

The Steam-Flon® gasket last longer if the correct torque is applied. Over-compression is disastrous for each gasket material, even for Steam-Flon®. We came to these recommendations after testing our gaskets at 10 bar water pressure. More information can be found in the Steam-Flon brochure.