Introduction to TPE flame retardancy

TPE materials are often used as insulating protective sheath materials for communication cables, rubber tube materials, conveyor belt materials, door and window sealing strips in the automotive industry, sound absorbing materials, instrument panels, steering wheel protective layers, wire protective sheath materials for airbag, etc. Among them, many applications require materials with high flame retardancy.

The basic formulation system of TPE material is SEBS, white oil and PP blend system. Due to the molecular structure, SEBS is flammable and accompanied by melting and dripping during combustion, so it cannot extinguish itself without fire; In addition, plastic and white oil are flammable substances, so TPE fire-retardant fuel is more difficult to make than ordinary polyethylene, polypropylene and other materials. If you want to achieve the same flame retardant effect, the amount of flame retardant is bound to be more.

Then, the higher the flame retardant grade, the better?

Generally speaking, we would like to achieve the highest flame retardant level, but this is not the case. The existing flame retardant test methods have limitations, and the conclusions are relative. For example, on some electrical products, the materials are required to have arc ignition resistance. At this time, if V-2 grade plastics are used, they will be superior to V-0 grade plastics. Because V-2 grade plastics will not form conductivity and coke under electric action, thus reducing the possibility of ignition, V-0 grade plastics have the possibility of ignition instead.

What is the processing difficulty of TPE flame retardant?

Elastomer processing speed is relatively slow, about 50% slower than PVC. It is not easy to adjust the temperature, and a lot of materials will be wasted when adjusting the machine. In addition, the machine will be washed before making materials, which is a big waste. These are unavoidable. In production, sometimes everything is normal in the first stage of production, and problems occur in the later stage of processing. It should be noted here that the sub brand materials are risky, please submit them to a professional company.

Flame retardant TPE/TPU is a very unique material, and the problem of flame retardant TPE/TPU still requires more work in material selection, formula and process. In general, it is recommended to select liquid flame retardant, reduce hardness and improve flame retardancy, reduce the amount of powder flame retardant added, which can improve the transparency of the product, improve the compatibility of flame retardant with the substrate by using compatibilizers, improve precipitation and greatly improve mechanical properties; In the process, special screw distribution is adopted to improve the dispersion of flame retardant in the system, improve the flame retardant efficiency and improve the appearance; By using a new type of silicon flame retardant, the condensed phase flame retardant mechanism can generate a pyrolysis carbon layer with good oxidation resistance, thus greatly improving the flame retardant rate.

Guangzhou Juhong New Material Co., Ltd. is a company specializing in research, development, production and sales of TPE. The plastic materials produced by the company have high strength, high resilience, and the characteristics of injection processing. They are environmentally friendly, non-toxic and safe, have a wide hardness range (0-100A), have excellent coloring, soft touch, weather resistance, fatigue resistance and temperature resistance, and have superior processing performance. They do not need to be sulphurized, and can be recycled to reduce costs. They can be used for secondary injection molding, and can be coated and bonded with PP, PE, PC, PS, ABS and other base materials, It can also be formed separately.