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Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPEs)

The TPE data is available within Granta’s MaterialUniverse data module. It can be used with GRANTA MI or CES Selector. It supports rational selection, enterprise material strategy, and positioning (technical and economic) of this important and rapidly advancing class of material.

Navigating the TPE Jungle

TPEs are a fast-moving field and, to many, a very confusing one. Even plastics experts have a hard time agreeing on common terminology, or what is a TPE and what isn’t.

The TPE dataset is the first of its kind. It organizes the TPE jungle so that you can make sense of it. It does this by categorizing the different grades and enabling their comparison on a broad set of technical and economic requirements.

The result has been approximately 80 ‘master grades’ of TPE summarizing over 3,000 commercially available materials. Datasheets for these materials are available via the Granta CAMPUS Plastics and IDES Plastics data modules.

Designing with TPE’s

The following table summarizes what the database offers from a design perspective.

Design requirement	How the TPE data helps	Design significance
Coverage of the important TPE categories	Coverage of nearly all TPEs that are commercially available. They are categorized by chemical composition and hardness. See summary in the table below.	For designers: With so many TPEs on offer it is valuable to select the most appropriate early in any design project. For TPE producers: Competitive positioning of TPEs requires all possible alternatives.
“What is the lowest cost material that delivers the required performance?”	Price of each resin ($/lb, Euro/Kg, etc) derived using Granta’s material price model. Quarterly updating is available.	Different TPE’s vary widely in price. Prices needed for ‘cost per unit of function’ comparisons (GRANTA MI:EMO or CES Selector calculate these.)
Medical use; food contact use	When purchased with the Medical Plastics data module: ISO 10993-1 or USP Class VI grades. FDA 22 CFR 177, EEC/EU, NSF, or BfR grades. Sterilizability rankings for: ethylene oxide (EtO), steam autoclave, radiation (gamma, electron-beam).	Aid regulatory approval of device (US 501k) or drug (NDA). Required for food contact use of any plastic part. Disposables must withstand 1 or 2 sterilization cycles, other equipment repeated sterilization.
Mechanical: strength, stiffness, and more	The full range of mechanical response properties offered with the MaterialsUniverse – strengths, stiffnesses, hardnesses. Additional properties: Strength at 100% & 300% elongation, Tear Strength, Abrasion Rate, Compression Set at 23, 70, 100 deg C.	TPEs are very ‘non-linear’ materials - additional parameters are provided to characterize their stress-strain response. Compression Set measures the elastomer’s recovery after compression: 0% = perfect; 100% = none Tear strength and abrasion rate characterize resistance to two common elastomer failure modes: tearing and wear.
Service temperature range	Maximum service temperature Minimum service temperature	In general, TPEs offer more limited operating ranges than traditional thermoset elastomers. Avoid low temperature embrittlement or high temperature loss of elastic recovery.
Transparency for functional and/or aesthetic reasons	Ranked as opaque, translucent, transparent, or optical quality.	TPEs range from opaque through to optical quality transparency.
Durability to fluids and chemicals	Resistance ratings of materials to 190 chemicals.	Important when TPE part will be exposed to chemicals. TPEs vary widely in their chemical resistance. None are resistant to everything. Some are very poor in fuels and oils, others are poor in polar media.
Barrier or permeability use	Permeability to: Oxygen (O2), Water vapour (H2O), Carbon dioxide (CO2)	Important for packaging, fluid containers, etc. Different TPE’s offer orders of magnitude differences in permeability.
Others	Electrical properties (conductivity, dielectric constant, dissipation factor, dielectric strength…); flammability (UL94…); water and humidity adsorption; processing properties (molding temperature, …), eco-properties (carbon footprint, embodied energy…)	These are all factors affecting material selection and TPE properties relating to them vary widely.

Types of TPE in the dataset

Chemistry	Abbreviation	Full name	Alternative names	Example brand
Olefinic	TPO	Thermoplastic Polyolefin Elastomer	TPE-O, PEO, TEO (thermoplastic elastomer, olefinic)
	TPV	Thermoplastic Vulcanizate		Santoprene
	POE/POP	Polyolefin Elastomer/Plastomer (ethylene and propylene-based)		Engage, Versify
Styrenic	SBS	Styrene Butadiene Styrene Block Copolymer	SBC (styrenic block copolymer), TES (thermoplastic elastomer, styrenic), TPE-S	Kraton
	SIS	Styrene Isoprene Styrene Block Copolymer		Kraton
	SEBS	Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene Block Copolymer		Kraton
Vinyl	PVC-elastomer	Polyvinyl chloride elastomer		Flexalloy
Urethane	TPU	Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomer (Polyester, Aromatic)	TPUR, TPE-U	Desmopan
		Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomer (Polyether, Aromatic)		Elastollan
		Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomer (Polyether, Aliphatic)		Tecoflex
Polyester-polyether	TEEE	Thermoplastic Elastomer, Ether-Ester	TPE-E, COPE (copolyether-ester elastomer)	Hytrel, Arnitel
Polyamide-polyether	PEBA	Polyether Block Amide	TPE-A, COPA	Pebax
Other	MPR	Melt Processable Rubber		Alcryn
Also in the MaterialUniverse data module are other soft thermoplastics that are sometimes referred to as elastomeric or that compete with TPE’s for the same applications. These include: flexible PVC, EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), EMA/EEA/EBA (ethylene acrylates), and Ionomer.