Thin Wall PTFE Tubing in Metric & Imperial Sizes

Description

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubing is a versatile and highly reliable material widely used in various industrial applications due to its unique properties. Known for its exceptional thermal stability, PTFE can withstand temperatures up to 400°C without significant decomposition. This remarkable thermal resilience, combined with its chemical inertness and ability to resist most solvents, makes PTFE tubing an ideal choice for environments requiring high resistance to heat and aggressive chemicals.

Additionally, PTFE tubing retains its physical integrity under extreme conditions, including prolonged exposure to disparate climates and temperatures approaching absolute zero, ensuring consistent performance and durability. These characteristics underscore PTFE's prominence in applications demanding stringent material specifications.

Thermal Properties

PTFE is one of the most thermally stable plastic materials; there is no appreciable decomposition below 400°C. The arrangement of the PTFE molecules varies with temperature. There are different transition points, with the most important ones being 19°C corresponding to a modification of some physical properties, and then at 327°C which corresponds to the disappearance of the crystalline structure; the PTFE assumes an amorphous aspect, conserving its own geometric form.

The linear thermal expansion coefficient varies with temperature. In addition, because of the orientation caused by the working process, the PTFE pieces are in general anisotropic; the coefficient of expansion varies also in relation to direction. The coefficient of thermal conductivity of the PTFE does not vary with temperature; it is relatively high so that PTFE can be considered to be a good insulation material.
The specific heat, as well as the heat content (enthalpy) increases with the temperature.

Chemical Resistance

PTFE is practically inert against known elements and compounds. It is attacked only by the alkaline metals in the elementary state, by Chlorine Trifluoride, and by elementary fluorine at high temperatures and pressures. PTFE is insoluble in almost all solvents at temperatures ip to about 300°C. Fluorinated hydrocarbons cause a certain swelling which is however, reversible. Some highly fluorinated oils, at temperatures over 300°C exercise a certain dissolving effect upon PTFE.

Test pieces of PTFE exposed for over twenty years to the most disparate climate conditions have not shown any alteration of their characteristic properties. High energy radiation tends to cause the breaking of the PTFE molecule, so the resistance to radiation is rather poor. The permeability of PTFE is similar to other plastic materials.

Physical Properties

PTFE can be used continuously at 260°C while still possessing a certain compressive plasticity at temperatures approaching absolute zero.