Hydrostatic Vent

Porex selects PTFE as the ideal material for a vent used in safety sensors (known as hydrostatic releases) on marine vessels. Able to withstand extreme temperatures and weather, Porex’s PTFE vents provide significant performance advantages over ceramic vent designs.

Design Challenge:
Safety sensors, referred to as hydrostatic release units, serve a critical function on marine lifesaving equipment. When a vessel begins to sink, these units sense the associated changes in pressure and activate a device that releases a lifeboat. The manufacturer was dissatisfied with an existing ceramic vent design used on the unit, due to inconsistency problems from batch to batch. Porex was contacted to develop and manufacture a porous vent for the safety sensor that would offer consistent performance over its two-year recommended life. Design requirements for the vent included water and salt resistance, low maintenance and the capability to withstand extremes of temperature and weather without suffering a loss of performance.

Solution:
Porex engineers selected PTFE as the porous plastic material for the vent. PTFE is water-repellent and resistant to degradation by sunlight, with a surface energy that provides inherently non-stick surfaces, all of which make it an ideal choice for the extreme conditions typical of marine applications. Furthermore, Porex engineers demonstrated the ability to closely define the parameters within our process particle size and pore size distribution, porosity and airflow to meet the needs of the application. Working closely with the manufacturer, Porex engineers determined the optimal performance characteristics, combined with the optimal dimensions to match the existing tooling and manufacturing parameters.

Result:
Porex PTFE vents have provided significant performance improvements over the previous ceramic designs. Our depth of experience in working with polymers and developing porous plastics solutions for industrial applications contributed to an expedited development process and also resulted in a higher quality product featuring a durable design.

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