New Products: Hexpol develops new salt-water hydrophilic waterstops

EUPEN, Belgium—Hexpol TPE is adding new grades to the company's hydrophilic thermoplastic elastomer materials for high saline environments.

The company's new Dryflex WS+ grades were designed to meet increasing demand for waterstop construction and sea wall defenses, Hexpol said.

Hydrophilic waterstops help prevent fluid passage when the are embedded in concrete joints.

These materials swell when immersed in water and shrink to their original size when water is no longer present. This expansion and contraction cycle can occur repeatedly.

"We think the Dryflex WS TPEs are pretty special; they aren't the normal product area for a TPE compounder. But they show how we want to bring new and inventive materials to help our customers meet their challenges. The addition of the new Dryflex WS+ grades open even more possibilities," said Martin Bradbury, senior account manager for Hexpol TPE UK, in a statement.

Dryflex WS+ grades, typically processed through extrusion, are available in a range of hardness. They also can be injection molded.

The new grades "are designed to give higher swell levels for applications in high saline environments, typically from 6 percent salinity," the company said.

The New Products blog showcases innovations suppliers are introducing to the rubber industry. It focuses on new materials, machinery, molds, testing equipment, software, and other goods and services that are intended to help manufacturers of finished rubber products. The blog will appear on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To have your product considered for the blog, contact Managing Editor Erin Pustay Beaven at [email protected] or Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].