Polyurethane elastomers belong to block polymers, that is, polyurethane macromolecules are composed of “soft segments” and “hard segments” and form a micro-phase separation structure, in which the hard segments (from isocyanates and chain extenders) are dispersed in the soft segment phase region (from oligomer polyols) to play the role of physical cross-linking points. Therefore, compared with other synthetic rubbers (elastomers), polyurethane elastomers have better strength and wear resistance, High elongation can still be maintained when the hardness is high.
Elastic polyurethane materials, referred to as “CASE” abroad, mainly include traditional polyurethane elastomer products, paving materials such as polyurethane plastic runways, polyurethane waterproof coatings, adhesives, sealants, potting adhesives, etc., accounting for about 40% of the total amount of polyurethane products. Most of the cured products of CASE materials (water-based and solvent based products after removing water and solvents) are non foam elastic polyurethane materials. PU synthetic leather resin, some coatings and adhesives are solvent-based or water-based products, which can also be considered as polyurethane elastomer materials in a broad sense. In a narrow sense, polyurethane elastomers refer to castable polyurethane elastomers (CPU), thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPU) and mixed polyurethane elastomers (MPU), accounting for 10% or slightly less of the total amount of polyurethane. CPU and TPU are the main polyurethane elastomers, and their differences lie in production process and chain extenders. This kind of traditional polyurethane elastomer, also known as “polyurethane rubber”, belongs to a special type of synthetic rubber. High-performance polyurethane elastomer is the best wear-resistant material among all synthetic polymer materials, known as the “king of wear resistance”, and is widely used in many fields, and new applications are still expanding.
Polyurethane elastomer can be used to replace metal, plastic and ordinary rubber in some fields.
Compared with metal materials, polyurethane elastomer has the advantages of light weight, low noise, wear resistance, low processing cost and acid corrosion resistance. Compared with plastics, it has the advantages of high toughness and high wear resistance. Compared with ordinary rubber, polyurethane elastomer has the advantages of wear resistance, cutting resistance, tear resistance, high bearing capacity, ozone resistance, etc., and is easy to manufacture, can be potted, poured, and has a wide range of hardness.
Post time: Feb-14-2023