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Emerging Scanning Results:
Formed in Place Gasketing

PATH Roadmap Applicability:

Summary

Gaskets are critical components that must perform under extremely difficult conditions. As the last line of resistance between interior and exterior, hot and cold, or wet and dry, they must withstand all these opposite poles, however great the differences. What is more, they must be absolutely reliable and have the longest possible service lives. Wacker Silicones has developed a series of technologies called formed-in-place gaskets (FIPG), compressive or "cured-in-place" gaskets (CIPG), and liquid-injected seals (LIS). The automotives and electronics sectors both include highly specialized applications that make extreme demands on the sealing materials used. They include engine gaskets, control unit gaskets, electronic encapsulation and special elements for decoupling noise and vibrations. Silicones are injected into the products to create the gasket. Potential applications in the building industry are window and door installations, as well as any product or material that penetrates the building envelope.

Application to PATH Roadmaps

Durability of housing products and systems is one of the high priority goals of the PATH program. Water intrusion through the building envelope has been the source of major building product problems and failures over the past decade. In some cases, water permeated cracks at the joints where windows and doors abut Exterior Insulating Finishing Systems (EIFS). This water traveled behind the insulation board into interior frame cavities where it caused rotting. Rotting damage caused tens of millions of dollars in insurance claims.  Builders use caulking and sealing at various points in the building envelope to prevent moisture intrusion. Caulking cracks during the construction process may not be the best way to achieve long term durability of housing envelopes. 

Current Status of Technology

The technology is well developed in the automotive industry and has found numerous applications where temperature, fluid, and pressure extremes provide challenges to gasket reliability. There are no current applications in the residential building industry.

Contact Information

Thomas Jacobs
Wacker Silicones
Adrian, MI
Phone: (517) 264-8503
Email: tjacobs@wackersilicones.com
http://www.wackersilicones.com

Content updated on 4/14/2003