Kalsi Seals Handbook

   
     

Chapter B2 
HNBR seal material   
 
 

Revision 6 September 30, 2020

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NOTICE: The information in this chapter is provided under the terms and conditions of the Offer of
Sale, Disclaimer, and other notices provided in the front matter of this seal handbook.

Document 3052 © 2020 Kalsi Engineering, Inc. All rights reserved.

HNBR seal material Chapter B2 Page 1

1. Seal material profile: HNBR

ASTM designation: HNBR

Common names: Hydrogenated Nitrile

Highly Saturated Nitrile

HSN1

Saturated Nitrile

Trade names: Therban (Mobay)

Zetpol (Zeon Chemical)

Tornac (Polysar)
General material description
Compared to NBR seal materials, HNBR offers outstanding abrasion resistance,
good resistance to swelling and flex cracking, and improved temperature, chemical and
compression set resistance. The improvements are gained by reducing unstable double
bonds through saturation with hydrogen. The typically quoted temperature range for
HNBR is -50 to 320°F (-46 to 160°C).2 This is 70°F (39°C) hotter than the typically
quoted maximum continuous operating temperature of NBR.

HNBR has a good overall balance of characteristics (chemical, abrasion,

compression set resistance, etc.) for typical oilfield drilling service, and is widely used in
that industry.

2. HNBR selection guidelines

Introduction
HNBR is the most common material used to manufacture Kalsi-brand rotary shaft
seals. The available compounds are shown in Table 1, and the various hardness
combinations available in Dual DurometerTM rotary seals are shown in Table 2.

The softer compounds

The 65 to 75 durometer hardness compounds (-14, -16, and -17) are used almost
exclusively as the outer, energizing portion of our Dual Durometer shaft seals. The 70

1 When HNBR was initially developed, it was commonly known as HSN.

2 With HNBR seal materials, one obvious sign of extended exposure to excessive heat is material
embrittlement.

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HNBR seal material Chapter B2 Page 2

durometer, -14 material is a popular dual durometer energizing material because it has
better compression set resistance than the 65 durometer, -17 compound, and provides
lower interfacial contact pressure than the 75 durometer, -16 compound.

The 80 durometer, -10 compound

The -10, 80 durometer seal material, is often recommended for low differential
pressure conditions, such as oilfield rotary steerable tools, where shaft seals with lower
running and breakout torque may be desirable. The compound is also a candidate for
certain low differential pressure applications that may operate in unusually cold
environments, such as oilfield surface equipment, mining equipment, and remotely
operated underwater vehicles. We have successfully started -10 Wide Footprint-type
shaft seals at -40°F (-40°C) in our laboratory.

Wide Footprint SealsTM made from the -10 HNBR compound have been
satisfactorily tested in low differential pressure conditions at 302°F (150°C) with an ISO
32 viscosity grade lubricant and a wide range of our typically recommended axial spring
loads.

The -11 compound

The -11 compound has a hardness range of 85 to 92 durometer Shore A, and
typically runs about 87 to 88 durometer. It is the most popular compound for Wide
Footprint and Axially Constrained Kalsi SealsTM, which are widely used as oilfield mud
motor seals. We have performed a great many rotary tests with this material at
temperatures up to 302°F (150°C) and pressures up to 1,500 psi (10.34 MPa) at speeds
simulating oilfield drilling operations.

The -11 compound was the first HNBR seal material ever adopted by Kalsi
Engineering. It was adopted at a time when true 90 durometer HNBR compounds were
unavailable. Although the -11 compound has a long history of success in high
differential pressure service, the -15 material offers superior high pressure extrusion
resistance, and should be considered in cases where seal geometry and radial cross-
sectional depth are compatible with the -15 compound.

The 90 durometer, -15 compound

The 90 durometer, -15 compound offers better high pressure extrusion resistance
than the -11 compound, however it is not recommended for Axially Constrained Seals,
and seals that have a small radial cross-sectional depth.

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HNBR seal material Chapter B2 Page 3

The -15 compound is presently the most popular dynamic lip material for dual
durometer shaft seals. Because of the longstanding acceptance and popularity of the -11
compound, the -15 compound is currently underutilized in single durometer seals. We
believe that many customers who use the -11 compound in high differential pressure
service would be better served by the -15 compound. For example, the fixed location,
pressure retaining seal of a mud motor is a prime candidate for the -15 compound, if it
meets the cross-sectional depth criterion described below.

The -15 compound has been qualified for Wide Footprint Seals that have a 0.345”
(8.76mm) or greater radial cross-sectional depth. The -15 compound has also been
qualified in Wide Footprint Hybrid SealsTM in radial cross-sectional depths of 0.305”
(7.75mm) or greater, using a ratio of two Type C enhanced lubrication waves to every
one zigzag wave.3 Since the Type C wave is the least aggressive Enhanced
LubricationTM wave, the -15 compound is also compatible with more aggressive wave
patterns.

Higher than anticipated hydrodynamic leakage has been observed with Type C
waves when used with the -15 compound. Before using this combination, consult the
relevant test data, and make sure your lubricant reservoir is adequately sized. No such
leakage affect has been observed when the -15 material is used with the zigzag waves of
second generation Wide Footprint Seals.
The 95 durometer, -18 compound
The 95 durometer, -18 compound offers better high pressure extrusion resistance
than the -15 compound, however it is only used as the inner lip material of a -107, -114,
or -115 Dual Durometer shaft seal.

3. Environmental considerations
Using HNBR with diesel-based drilling fluids
Significant swelling of HNBR can occur with #2 diesel-based oil well drilling fluid.
This is particularly the case with low aniline point diesel fuel. Differential pressure,
barrier seals, and/or rotary seal spring loading should be used to help to minimize
swelling when low aniline point environments are anticipated. If possible, drillers should
consider the aniline point when specifying diesel-based drilling fluids. Due to its adverse
effect on elastomers, low aniline point diesel muds should be avoided when possible.

3 Our tests of 0.270" (6.86mm) radial cross-section, PN 641-19-11 and 641-19-15 Type C Wide
Footprint Enhanced Lubrication SealsTM indicate that the -15 material no longer provides a benefit over
the -11 material seal in such small cross-section Type C seals. As of this writing, the -15 material has
not been tested in 0.270” radial cross-section seals that have more aggressive enhanced lubrication
wave patterns.

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HNBR seal material Chapter B2 Page 4

Kalsi Engineering successfully performed a 500 hour, 250°F (121°C), 1,000 psi
(6.89 MPa) rotary test with 7.2 lb/gal “neat” (i.e. 100% diesel fuel) #2 diesel-based
drilling fluid using HNBR (85 to 92 Durometer Shore A) seals at a surface speed of 346
ft/minute (1.76 m/s). In rotary seal testing with other swell-inducing fluid media,
however, swelling caused a significant reduction in high pressure extrusion resistance.
To reduce the risk of swell-induced loss of extrusion resistance, an outboard barrier seal
can be used to protect the high pressure shaft seal from the swell-inducing environment.

In applications with differential pressure, very little of the surface area of the rotary
seal is actually exposed to and soaked by the drilling fluid. This helps to minimize
swelling. In the aforementioned 1,000 psi lab test, swelling of the seal was limited to the
small portion that was directly exposed to the drilling fluid at the extrusion gap between
the seal carrier and the shaft. In low differential pressure applications, axial spring
loading of the seal can also be employed to minimize swelling by establishing sealing
contact pressure with the environment side groove wall. Similar to differential pressure,
spring loading limits the area of the rotary seal that can be exposed to the drilling fluid.
Special precautions with winterized diesel based drilling fluids
Diesel-based drilling fluids are often more aggressive to HNBR seals in the
wintertime due to the lower viscosity/condensate type winterizing additives. Benzene is
even sometimes encountered in diesel-based drilling fluids on a seasonal basis, and
dramatically reduces the life of HNBR-based rotary seals.

When using HNBR in the fixed location, higher differential pressure seal position
of a downhole mud motor, the material(s) of the barrier seal(s) and the compensation
piston sliding and rotary seals should be selected based on anticipated chemical
exposure if winterized diesel-based drilling fluids are anticipated.
Using HNBR with brine-based drilling fluids
While HNBR is resistant to the salt solutions sometimes encountered in oil well
drilling, and has good compatibility with water, steam, and formate brine, it is poor
against zinc bromide and fair to poor against calcium bromide. Both bromides are
sometimes encountered in brine drilling fluids. When using HNBR in the fixed location,
high pressure seal position of a downhole mud motor, the material(s) of the outboard
barrier seal should be selected for bromide resistance if brine-based drilling fluids are
anticipated. FEPM and FKM are suggested as candidate barrier seal materials.
H2S

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HNBR seal material Chapter B2 Page 5

HNBR is generally considered to be acceptable with concentrations of up to 7%

H2S at temperatures up to 300°F (149°C). At higher temperatures or concentrations, use
FKM or FEPM. FEPM is preferred to FKM if explosive decompression is a concern.

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HNBR seal material Chapter B2 Page 6

Known media limitations:

Avoid benzene, zinc bromide, calcium bromide (may cause embrittlement), CaBr
formates, strong acids, halohydrocarbons (carbon tet, trichlorethylene), ketones (MEK,
acetone), esters. Slight deterioration occurs when exposed to the lubricant additive zinc
dithiophosphate. High acrylonitrile (ACN) content is desirable for use with drilling
fluids based on No. 2 diesel fuel.
Other resources on chemical compatibility
It is not practical to include comprehensive media compatibility information in this
handbook, nor is it necessary in view of the available specialty literature. One such
reference is the book Chemical Resistance Guide for Elastomers IV by Kenneth M.
Pruett (Compass Publications, La Mesa, CA USA: 2014).

Table 1
Available HNBR materials for single durometer rotary seals

Material hardness,
Material dash no. Material description Shore A Durometer
-10 HNBR (fully saturated, 80 ±5
peroxide cured, up to
43% ACN)
-11 HNBR (peroxide cured, 85 to 92
up to 43% ACN)
-14 HNBR 70 ±5
-15 HNBR 90 ±5
-16 HNBR 75 ±5
-17 HNBR 65 ±5

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HNBR seal material Chapter B2 Page 7

Table 2
HNBR material combinations for Dual Durometer rotary seals4

Inner lip hardness, Outer Lip hardness,

Material dash no. Shore A Shore A
-100 80 ±5 65 ±5
-101 85 to 92 65 ±5
-102 90 ±5 65 ±5
-104 80 ±5 70 ±5
-105 85 to 92 70 ±5
-106 90 ±5 70 ±5
-107 95 ±5 70 ±5
-108 80 ±5 75 ±5
-109 85 to 92 75 ±5
-110 90 ±5 75 ±5
-112 85 to 92 80 ±5
-113 90 ±5 80 ±5
-114 95 ±5 80 ±5
-115 95 ±5 85 to 92

4 Techniques have been developed to manufacture our rotary seals in most hardness combinations
without the need for special tooling.

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