As our needs go up day by day, the pressure on industries to manufacture better and long-lasting products increases too, which in turn leads to manufacturers preferring reliable instruments and machinery. While the quality of the core elements that are required for production depends on the manufacturer themselves, one can easily improve added protections by using special sheets or coatings that increase their durability and overall resistance to harsh elements.
PVDF, which is short for Polyvinylidene Fluoride, is an industry-standard material that has been quickly evolving as a strong contender for protective sheets for containers, metal surfaces and engineering applications. Today, we’ll be looking at 5 top reasons why PVDF is the go-to material for protective sheets and industrial coatings:
High Chemical Resistance
While most industrial sheets and coatings made of polymers are resistant to chemicals, the fact that many chemicals still manage to affect them when exposed in extremes is a worrying factor for many industries that demand absolute protection from chemicals. While PVDF is not perfect either, it is no doubt superior to most other polymers when it comes to chemical resistance because it can repel almost any chemical that industrial equipment is typically exposed to.
High Heat Resistance
PVDF has a very high heat resistance; in fact, a PVDF sheet or coating can retain its strength up to 280°F, which is much higher than your average high-density polymer such as PVC which can tolerate heats only up to 140°F. This allows PVDF to be useful for various high heat industrial process and methods while retaining maximum strength and offering superior protection.
UV Resistance
Sunlight is an important need for all of us but is often avoided when it comes to industrial manufacturing because the UV rays emitted from the sun can be damaging and disastrous to some plastic products, sheets or plastic linings, especially in direct sunlight. This is because UV radiation has the capability to break down the polymers at the molecular level, rendering their entire strengths useless. However, PVDF posses an important advantage in this case; it is resistant to UV lights, making it perfect for outdoor sheets or coatings for surfaces that are exposed to harsh, direct sunlight outdoors.
High Tensile Strength
Tensile strength can be roughly defined as the maximum load that a material can support without breaking or critical failure. Many polymers have respectable tensile strength limits but often fall short in high load environments where higher tensile strength is desired. PVDF, with a tensile strength of around 7200 psi (higher than the average polymer strength of 4800 psi), is a great choice for industries that require stronger sheets and coatings that are more resistant to critical loads that are capable of bending or breaking a normal polymer sheet or coating.
High Surface Hardness
Surface hardness is a slightly different measure of hardness as compared to tensile strength. Here, we are talking about the scratching force, which shows how durable and resistant the surface is to rough handling and usage. With a scale of 100 on the Rockwell Hardness scale, PVDF is pretty hard on the surface, making it the perfect choice for rough usage where the surface is continuously being scratched by abrasion.
Conclusion
PVDF has its own benefits that make it a standout polymer in the crowded polymer industry with numerous variants. It can handle extremes of everything, which makes it perfect for high performance and heave usage applications that prefer the durability and long-lasting coatings over anything else.
