High performance polyurethane elastomers are widely used in dynamic applications, such as wheels, rollers and tires. These applications account for more than 50 percent of the high performance engineering elastomer market.
The majority of dynamic elastomers are based on polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG). PTMEG elastomers have excellent dynamic performance but are often found to be over-engineered for less demanding applications.
In this study, a new modified polyether polyol from Dow Chemical Co. is evaluated for replacing PTMEG in less demanding dynamic applications while providing an improvement in viscosity and processing. The elastomers based on the new polyol showed significant improvement over the standard polypropylene glycol (PPG) elastomers and approached the dynamic performance of PTMEG elastomers. As a result of the work, Dow Polyurethanes is commercializing Hyperlast 301 prepolymer series.