Garlock is one of the best-known brands in gasket materials and they have an extensive range of products. Here we’ll take a look at one of their materials that’s suitable for a wide variety of applications: Garlock Blue-Gard 3000.
Garlock Blue-Gard® 3000 Composition
The spec sheet tells us Blue-Gard 3000 is composed of aramid in an NBR binder. Here’s what that means.
The word “aramid” is a contraction of the chemists’ term, aromatic polyamide. It’s a generic term for high strength fibers produced from PPTA (poly-p-phenylene terephthalamide) polymer. You may recognize one of the widely used brand names: Kevlar.
In gasket material, these fibers need holding together. That’s the job of the NBR or nitrile rubber. NBR also provides the elasticity and compressibility we look for in a good gasket material.
Properties of Blue-Gard® 3000 Gasket Material
Aramid is very strong with excellent abrasion and creep resistance. It doesn’t melt or burn, even at very high temperatures, and it resists attack by solvents and oils. It will however degrade with prolonged exposure to UV light.
NBR is limited in the maximum temperature it can tolerate and is attacked by ozone as well as ketones, esters, aldehydes, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Two examples of chemicals it should not be exposed to are acetone and benzene.
Where NBR excels is in resistance to oils, including those used in hydraulic systems, as well as fats and greases. When exposed to these oils it will swell. It also has good elasticity but will creep under load.
Garlock 3000 combines the most useful properties of aramid and NBR. It can tolerate 400°F (205°C) and has excellent creep resistance, which makes for good torque retention. Good strength means it withstands high internal pressures and it also resists attack from a wide range of oils.
When (And When Not) To Use Blue-Gard® 3000
Good uses are for sealing water, oils, and greases, even those being moved at high temperatures. Applications involving thermal cycling will benefit from high creep resistance. Applications to avoid are those with exposure to ozone, (such as high voltage electricity,) as well as perfumes and foodstuffs.
Hennig Gasket & Seals is the preferred vendor of Garlock Blue-Gard® 3000 and all other Garlock gasket material. Contact us today for a quote on custom cut Blue-Gard® gaskets or sheets of Garlock gasket material.
