SubscribeTechnical Data & Product Description
Product Description
Hexoloy® SP SiC is a sintered alpha silicon carbide material designed specifically for optimum performance in sliding contact applications such as mechanical seal faces and product lubricated bearings. This material improves upon the exceptional friction properties of Hexoloy® SA SiC (sintered alpha SiC) through the addition of spherical pores. These pores are discrete, non-interconnecting and dispersed in a controlled manner throughout the body of the material.
The spherical pores act as fluid or lubricant reservoirs helping to promote the retention of a fluid film at the interface of sliding component surfaces. This “pore” based lubrication mechanism allows Hexoloy® SP SiC to outperform conventional reaction-bonded and sintered silicon carbides in a wide variety of service conditions.
Performance Testing
Corrosion Resistance. Unlike reaction-bonded silicon carbides and tungsten carbides,Hexoloy® SP SiC contains no free silicon phase or metallic binder subjectto corrosive attack. This material is a fine grain, single phase SiC product produced via pressureless sintering of submicron silicon carbide powder.
As a result of this homogenous SiC composition, it exhibits the same outstanding corrosion resistance as does its forerunner Hexoloy® SA SiC. Superior performance is assured across a nearly universal range of environments including both strong acids and bases. Hexoloy® SP SiC’s corrosion resistance exceeds that of all reaction-bonded SiC’s, tungsten carbides and aluminum oxides.
Performance Testing
Seal Face Testing. Seal face performance tests comparing Hexoloy® SP SiC with conventional fine grained reactionbonded SiC and sintered SiC were conducted on a high pressure test rig. All of the SiC materials were tested running againstidentical phenolic resin impregnated carbon-graphites. Maximum tested PV (pressure-velocity) exceeded 1 million psi ft/min.
Hexoloy® SP demonstrated consistently superior results compared to reaction-bonded and sintered SiC in terms of both carbon-graphite and silicon carbide wear. Additionally, selfmated testing of this material shows excellent service potentialfor those applications which can benefit from a hardface versus hardface mechanical face seal combination.
Applications
Industrial Seal Faces
Hexoloy® SP SiC offers mechanical seal manufacturers and users a material they can broadly standardize on without sacrifice. Universal corrosion resistance combined with excellent tribological characteristics makes Hexoloy® SP SiC the superior choice for a wide range of industrial seal face applications:
• Chemical processing
• Refining
• Waste water
• Paper and pulp
• Mining
• Nuclear
• Marine
• Appliance
Automotive Water Pump Seal Faces
In highly silicated coolants Hexoloy® SP SiC has demonstrated improvement in service life over the excellent performance of Hexoloy® SA for both automotive and truck application. Hexoloy SP is used commercially in automotive SiC versushard carbon seal designs, and has shown superior results in SiC versus SiC hardface designs for diesel truck applications.
Pump Bearings
Seal-less pumps equipped with Hexoloy® SP SiC sleeve and thrust bearings have been able to run dry during process upset conditions up to twice as longas have pumps equipped with conventional sintered and reaction-bonded SiC’s.Hexoloy® SP SiC is the one bearing material available today which can handlethe full spectrum of application demands from suspended abrasives to hydrofluoric acids to light-hydrocarbons.
Design Considerations
Successful application of engineered ceramic materials such as Hexoloy® SP SiC is heavily dependent on proper design criteria. Among the many aspects of productdesign requiring careful consideration are:
• Physical Properties
• Tribological Performance
• Geometric Shape
• Process Capability/Economics
• Effect of Tolerances on Cost
• Attachment or Drive Method
• Surface Finish Requirements
Saint-Gobain Ceramics application engineers can assist you with the design of cost-effective high performance components for your specific need.
