High Density Thermoplastics As Replacement For Toxic Compounds
Posted by Michael Luis on October 31st, 2022
Lead and other high density materials used for a number of applications can be replaced by specially designed engineered thermoplastics which are high in density and have superior properties as compared to conventional polymers to suit demanding applications such as automotive, electronics and industrial sectors.
Specialised high density polymers developed by leading companies in this field such as Ecomass are being used to replace lead, stainless steel, aluminium, copper, tungsten, brass, bronze and other metals for a plethora of applications such as radiation shielding, training ammunition for army and police, vibration damping and more.
Features of high density thermoplastics
The high density thermoplastics can be engineered using various types of polymers and fillers to suit the application requirements of the customers. They can be easily used for injection moulding, compression moulding and extrusion equipment. Apart from the strength of the base polymer, the additives also play an important role in imparting superior properties to the high density thermoplastics. For instance, glass fibres increase the heat distortion temperature by 100 degrees C and stiffness by a factor of 4.
The properties of engineered high density thermoplastics can be summed up in the following points.
● Density can be increased up to 11 g/cc
● High heat deflection temperature
● High impact strength
● High tensile strength
● High flexural modulus
Protection against nuclear radiations
Engineered high density thermoplastics provide 100% Radiation shielding against gamma rays and X rays. Lead has always been the principal material for radiation shielding because it provides complete shielding and is cheap and easy to process. However, health and environmental threats posed by lead has led to regulatory environmental standards being imposed on the production and use of lead.
Engineered high density thermoplastics do not contain lead or lead compounds but provide equally effective radiation shielding as lead. Leading manufacturers such as Ecomass manufacture high density thermoplastics optimised to provide the required level of shielding as required by the customers.
Vibration damping
In a number of applications when isolating vibration is not possible, the manufacturers resort to dampening the vibration. Engineered high density thermoplastics have high density and softness to provide effective vibration damping. The manufacturer of engineered high density thermoplastics determines the required density to provide vibration damping for any specific application and uses the appropriate base resin and fillers to achieve optimal quality of vibration damping.
Engineered high density thermoplastics are being used to dampen vibration in a number of applications such as aircraft headphones to improve audio quality and in manual gear shift cars to reduce the vibration caused by the cartridge and shifter rod.
Frangible ammunition
Conventional ammunition used in firearms are made of lead covered with a copper jacket. The high gravity frangible bullets do not contain lead but are composites of tungsten, copper or tin with a base polymer produced using injection moulding process.
Frangible bullets do not ricochet because they break into powder on hitting hard surfaces. They also eliminate the problem of lead contamination at shooting ranges.
Original Equipment Manufacturers looking to replace lead and other high density metals from their manufacturing processes can work with specialised companies engaged in the production of high density thermoplastics.
About Author:
Michael Luis has an author, Who has been vehemently writing industrial Mechanism related articles for about 5years. He enjoys writing stuffs on high density polymers, Radiation shielding and High density materials related for Ecomass Technologies.
