Elastollan TPU

Thermoplastic Polyurethane
Material Considerations for Railway
Engineering

BASF Corporation
Wyandotte, MI 48192

Jeff DeGross
Staci Wegener
6/13/2016 1
BASF Touchpoints in Rail
Elastollan Thermoplastic Polyurethane
Excellent abrasion resistance, compressive
strength, and mechanical properties

Elastotrack Ballast Binder

Reinforces and stabilzes loose bulk ballast

Ultramid Polyamides
High strength and abrasion resistant insulators

MasterGlenium and MasterSure

Concrete admixtures designed for fast wetout
and extended workability

Urethane Raw Materials and

Additives rail seat repair, tie plugs
Complete integration across value chain
Outline
Whats an elastomer?
Value proposition
Properties of Interest
Abrasion resistance
Hardness
Aging
Polyether vs. Polyester
Vs. Rubber
Mechanical properties
Summary

6/13/2016 INTERNAL 3
Elastollan TPU
Engineered by BASF for the Toughest Applications

Elastollan TPU is a
TPE material characterized by:

Rubbery Nature (flexible)

Excellent Abrasion Resistance & Mechanical Properties (both
compression and in tension)
Rubber Elasticity

What makes elastomers special is that they can be stretched to many

times their original length, and can bounce back into their original
shape without permanent deformation.

PUTTING ENTROPY TO WORK

F F

High Entropy Low Entropy

Modulus vs. Temperature - Elastomers

Thermoplastic Elastomer
E-modulus
Cross-Linked Rubber

Room Temperature

Temperature
Modulus vs. Temp Thermoplastics &
TPEs

Dependence of E-Modulus to Temperature

Thermoset
E-modulus

Thermoplastic

Elastomer

Thermoplastic Elastomer

Temperature
Room Temperature
Bridging the Gap Between Elastomers
and Plastics

10000
Elastollan 1185 A
Elastollan 1154 D
1000
Torsion modulus [MPa]

thermoplastic
100

10
elastomer
1

0.1
-100 -50 0 50 100 150 200
Temperature [C]
Dynamic Mechanical Analysis
G (Storage Modulus)

1E+4
a: 1180A10 - 304101 - Auftrag: 00433 @ 1Hz
j: 1185A10 - 304904 - Auftrag: 00433 @ 1Hz
b: 1190A10 - 303684 - Auftrag: 00433 @ 1Hz
c: 1195A10 - 302970 - Auftrag: 00433 @ 1Hz
m: 1154D50 - 206411 - Auftrag: 00433 @ 1Hz
e: 1164D50 - 202613 - Auftrag: 00433 @ 1Hz
Storage Modulus G (MPa)

1E+3
f: 1174D50 - 203731 - Auftrag: 00433 @ 1Hz
Speichermodul G' / MPa [l ]

1E+2
74D TPU

1E+1

80A TPU
1E+0
-80 -40 0 40 80 120 160 200

1E-1
Temperatur T / C

Temperature (C)
E Modulus and Temperature
Thermoplastic Elastomer
E-modulus

Room Temperature

Temperature
Glassy State
Thermoplastic Elastomer
E-modulus

Glassy state:
molecules are frozen",
material is brittle
Room Temperature

Temperature
Molecular Movement
Thermoplastic Elastomer
E-modulus Glass transition region:
start of molecular motion in soft phase,
transition from brittle to ductile

Room Temperature

Temperature
Elastic Region
Thermoplastic Elastomer
E-modulus

Rubber-like elastic plateau:

physical cross-linking by
hard phases crystallites

Room Temperature

temperature
Melting
Thermoplastic Elastomer
E-modulus

Melting - material becomes

plastic and can be processed

Room Temperature

temperature
Elastollan Properties
TPU Value Proposition

Abrasion Resistance
Elasticity and Resilience
Tear Strength
Compressive Strength (load bearing)
Low Compressive Set
Low Temperature Flexibility
Low Temperature Impact Resistance
Resistance to Fuels and Oil
Transparency (some grades)
Chemical Adhesion to Most Engineering Plastics
Material is Processed via Conventional Extrusion and Injection Molding
Techniques
 Taber Abrasion (mg Loss)

0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
TPU

Ionomer

Nylon 6/10

Nylon 11

HDPE

Teflon

Nitrile Rubber

Nylon 6/6

LDPE

Natural Rubber

Styrene-Butadiene Rubber
Abrasion Resistance of Materials

Plasticized PVC

Butyl Rubber

ABS

Neoprene

Polystyrene
Abrasion Resistance
high tensile strength + high elasticity = high abrasion resistance

surface of a TPU test piece after abrasion

Effect of Hardness on Abrasion loss

35

30
Abrasion Loss (mm3)

25

20

15

10

0
1180A

1190A

1195A

1198A

1154D

1160D

1164D

1174D
Class I Railpads
TPU Heat Ageing (Ether)

C C O
O C C
ether
O2

C C
O C C + HO
OOH
hydroperoxide alcohol
TPU Hydrolysis (Ester)

C O
R C R
ester O

+
H
H2O

C OH + R
R C HO
O
acid alcohol
Important
Properties of
Elastollan TPU
Polyether vs. Polyester TPUs

Polyether TPU Polyester TPU

Hydrolysis Resistance Heat Stability
Microbe Resistance Mechanical Strength
Cold Temperature Flexibility Oil Resistance
Low Temperature Impact
Polarity
Resistance
Stability to Radiation
TPU vs. Rubber
Advantages (of TPU): Disadvantages:
Processing methods are similar Melting at elevated T
to thermoplastics
Limited number of low hardness
Shorter fabrication times TPEs (less than 50A)
No compounding necessary Drying prior to processing
Reusable scrap
Low energy consumption
Holding low tolerances
Lower density than conventional
rubber
Modulus (Tensile)

The tensile and other mechanical properties of TPU vary with the
hardness.
Hardness and Stiffness can be considered as one
600

500
Tensile Modulus (MPa)

400

300

200

100

0
1180A 1185A 1190A 1195A 1160D 1164D 1174D
Tensile Strength (at Break) v. Hardness

60
C Series
1100 Series
50
Tensile Strength (MPa)

40

30

20

10

0
80A 85A 90A 95A 60D 64D 74D
Hardness
Compression Set v. Hardness

70
C Series
60
1100 Series
Compression Set at 70C (%)

50

40

30

20

10

0
80A 85A 90A 95A 60D 64D 74D
Hardness
glass temp vs Hardness

80

60

40
Temperature (C)

Max of G"
Max of tan d
20

-20

-40

-60
1180A 1185A 1190A 1195A 1154D 1160D 1164D 1174D
Softening Temp (Vicat) v. Hardness

Method: DIN ES IS 306 with 120C/h and 10N

200

180

160
VST (C)

140

120

100

80
1185A10 1190A10 1195A10 1154D10 1174D50
Cold Temp Impact v. Hardness

DIN EN ISO 175 ( kJ/m)

Elastollan
Temperature 1175 AW 1185 A 1185 A 1195 A 1154 D 1154 D 1164 D
FHF FHF
Unnotched - 40 C NF NF NF NF NF 48 NF
- 50 C NF NF NF NF NF 37 NF
Notched - 10 C NF NF NF NF 163 9 29
specimen - 20 C NF NF NF NF 168 5 13
- 30 C NF NF 37 180 14 3 9
- 40 C NF NF 8 24 11 3 9
- 50 C NF NF 4 12 9 3 7
Elastollan TPU by BASF
Excellent Properties for Demanding Applications
TPU for Rail Infrastructure -
Summary
TPUs modulus vs. temp behavior similar to rubber
Major benefit of Elastomers - flat modulus across temp range
TPUs for heavy haul in North America - range from 90A 55D
Harder materials/grades
less rubbery
Behave more plastic, almost metal like in terms of modulus and
dynamic mechanical properties
Compression Set % increases with hardness
Tensile Strength at break unaffected by hardness
TPU for Rail Infrastructure -
Summary

Softer grades = higher abrasion loss vs harder grades

Softer grades = more elastic (lower modulus)
Softer grades higher damping, absorb more energy than harder grades
Harder grades are significantly stiffer, are thus less elastic (have higher
modulus)
Harder grades higher load bearing, less energy absorption
Is there a limit? as hardness increases, glass temp, cold flexibility,
impact strength, damping, comp set are all affected and should be
considered
If harder TPUs are considered (to counteract increased track loads)
please factor all this into the design, seek BASFs assistance
Elastollan TPU - Production Sites
BASF develops, produces and markets Thermoplastic Polyurethane
elastomers (TPU) under the trade name Elastollan in all major
economic regions globally

Lemfrde
Wyandotte

Yokkaichi
Shanghai

So Paulo
More than just products

Engineering, simulation and material consulting expertise

World-class technical
service
Over 10,700 employees
worldwide involved in R&D
Around 3,000 research
projects
R&D spending 1.8 Bn
Questions