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by Jim Stark
In one of the early years of our business, we were visited by a gentleman from another laboratory. I remember him standing in our lobby emphatically stating that the element silicon &#; when it appears in the spectrometry of oil &#; has one source and one source only: abrasive dirt.
He was wrong. Many people believe silicon only comes from dirt, but myriad sources of silicon exist. In oil analysis we look at elements rather than molecules, so silicone from harmless sealers and silicon (no &#;e&#;) from abrasive contaminants will both read as the elemental form of silicon. We use deductive reasoning to determine whether the silicon is abrasive or not, and sometimes the answer isn&#;t entirely clear just by looking at the data. In those cases we&#;ll cover all the bases and talk about the different sources of silicon and offer a variety of suggestions on how to proceed. Some forms of silicon will harm an engine, and others will not.
Silicone-based gasket sealers used in engine assembly and repair show up as high silicon in an oil sample. Any oil sample taken from a new, rebuilt, or repaired engine typically reads high in silicon. Oil from some types of new engines may contain as much as 400 ppm silicon. You can ignore the high silicon in these cases since it is harmless and will wash away by the third or fourth oil change.
Certain brands of engine oil and aftermarket oil additives contain silicon as an anti-foaming additive. The oils that use silicon as an additive can use up to 15 ppm of silicon or so, and we&#;ve seen silicon in aftermarket additives reading up to 850 ppm. It&#;s always important to let us know what oil brands and additives you&#;ve used so we can take that into consideration when writing your comments.
Your sampling procedure might introduce some silicon to the oil as well. The silicon might be from dirt around the drain plug or from a dirty collection pan if you&#;re dipping the sample out of the pan after you drain the oil. We&#;ve seen silicon read at several hundred ppm from using new plastic tubing or turkey basters to pump/collect samples. Silicon introduced in the sampling process is harmless to the engine internals.
Silicon can read high in an oil when coolant seeps into the oil system. It comes from silicon (rust) inhibitors used in the antifreeze. While the inhibitors aren&#;t necessarily harmful, the antifreeze certainly is, and you will want to seek repairs before the engine is seriously damaged.
Finally, there&#;s the abrasive form of silicon: dirt. Abrasive contamination causes poor wear in the cylinders, so if you see high silicon and poor cylinder wear, chances are good the silicon is abrasive. Check the air filter: Is it dirty? Installed properly? Check the seals and connections to make sure they&#;re properly sealed. Check the air box for rodent or insect nests, particularly if the engine hasn&#;t been started in a while. Look for cracks or leaks in the induction tubing. In aircraft engines, check the carb heat/alt air doors to ensure proper sealing.
Silicon has several possible sources in analysis. The more information we have about recent engine work, oil brands, aftermarket additives, and your sampling procedure, the easier it is for us to work with you to help determine whether the silicon is abrasive and what steps you should take to protect your engine. At Blackstone Laboratories, our analysts consider all these factors when making recommendations to help you prolong your engine&#;s life. In the end, that&#;s what it&#;s all about!
Silicone is a highly versatile synthetic material used in a vast range of applications throughout multiple industries. Silicone can be found in the products we use in our daily lives, from the cars we drive, food preparation and storage products, baby bottles and pacifiers, and dental and other daily personal hygiene products. Silicone is also widely used in products that could save our lives including respiratory masks, IV&#;s, and other critical medical and healthcare devices.
In this guide, we discuss its uses and how it compares to silicon and plastic. You will learn more about the silicone production process and some of the notable advantages of this compound.
Silicone, also known as polysiloxane, is a human-made material. It is a polymer comprised of siloxane that features a rubber-like consistency with molecules that have chains of alternating oxygen and silicon atoms. This unique polymer can be a key component used in:
A distinct differentiator between silicones and other industrial polymers is that their molecular backbone does not contain carbon. Some of the common applications using silicone include:
Industries ranging from automotive to textiles and consumer to medical use silicone for various purposes.
As a versatile polymer, silicone is in the following:
The primary ingredient in silicone is silica &#; one of the most commonly occurring forms of sand. Here&#;s what you need to know about silicone vs. silicon.
Silicone and silicon, although similar in their spelling, differ in how they are produced. Silicon s a chemical element (Si). Like most elements, it does not naturally exist in its isolated form. However, silicone refers to a broad class of polymers that consist of a siloxane bond (chemical formula -Si-O-Si-) with various organic compounds attached.
Another distinction between the two is their physical characteristics. Silicon is harder and a more brittle substance, while silicone is a more flexible and softer material with better heat-resistant properties.
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Some of the most common applications for silicon include the following:
Let&#;s explore the various steps involved in silicone production.
Isolating silicon from silica is the first step in producing silicone. To achieve this, a large volume of quartz sand is heated to temperatures as high as degrees Celsius. Pure, isolated silicon is the result. Once it cools, manufacturers can grind it into fine powder.
The fine silicon powder is mixed with methyl chloride. Applying heat again activates a reaction between the components forming what is known as methyl chlorosilane. Methyl chlorosilane is a mix containing several compounds, the most predominant of which, dimethyldichlorosilane, is the primary building block of silicone.
Getting from dimethyldichlorosilane to silicone requires a complex distillation process to separate the various components of methyl chlorosilane from one another. Because chlorosilanes have different boiling points, this step involves heating the mixture to a series of precise temperatures.
Following distillation, combining water with dimethyldichlorosilane causes a separation of hydrochloric acid and disilanol.
The hydrochloric acid then acts as a catalyst for the disilanol, causing it to condense into polydimethylsiloxane.
You&#;ll notice polydimethylsiloxane has a siloxane bond. This bond is the silicone&#;s backbone. Polymerizing silicone involves several different methods depending on the finished product&#;s desired properties.
While the silicone production process may seem complex, in reality, it&#;s fairly straightforward and can take place on a mass scale for a relatively low cost. As such, it&#;s little wonder that versatile silicone has emerged as one of the most popular elastomers for commercial and industrial use.
Plastic and silicone are highly durable and malleable materials, and they can have a similar look and feel. While the two closely resemble one another, their distinctive chemical and molecular compositions make them different.
Plastics have a molecular backbone created with carbon and hydrogen. Producing them uses the following resources:
Plastics are made from less environmentally friendly elements and can break down into dangerous microplastics. They also sometimes contain toxins, such as bisphenol A. Plastics typically do not last as long as silicones and are less resistant to extreme temperatures.
Silicone materials are highly beneficial for a wide variety of applications. Because of its properties, silicone materials have many advantages, these properties include the following:
Silicone is easy to customize and mold and comes in a variety of forms (liquid, solid or sheet) depending on the molding or fabrication process and specific use. Whether your application requires greater temperature resistance or more malleability, material manufacturers offer a variety of compounds and grades to meet your various needs.
At SIMTEC, we believe in providing our customers with value-added solutions. These solutions utilize the best-suited material, tooling and manufacturing process that will deliver high-performance liquid silicone rubber injection molded parts and extraordinary results.
Our LSR injection molding cells incorporate precision automation, innovative technology, a stable process and rigorous quality standards, inspections and testing to ensure we meet the highest quality possible customized for your specific requirements. We strive to deliver precision, value-added LSR components that consistently meet our customer&#;s productivity, cost, and quality objectives.
Are you interested in learning more about LSR custom component solutions from SIMTEC? Contact us today.
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