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01/10/2007
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Filler neck hoses are key components in a fuel system. They must provide a flexible connection between the filler pipe and the fuel tank and be strong enough to withstand significant crash impact without fracture and fuel leakage, while providing an impermeable barrier to evaporative emissions (in compliance Euro 4 and US Lev II and PZEV requirements).
Traditional practice was to weld a plastic filler pipe directly onto the fuel tank, but this is less flexible and the pipe is easily detached at impact. Several hose OEMs overcame the problem by developing extrusion moulded rubber hoses.
Now Nolato Sunne in Sweden, a specialist supplier of plastic and rubber products for the automotive industry, has come up with an alternative way of manufacturing filler neck hoses that provides flexibility with impressive durability and fuel permeation resistance.
The company is using a combination of DuPont Performance Elastomers’ Viton fluoroelastomer (FKM) bonded to ethylene acrylic elastomer (AEM) in an injection moulded construction. Jan Bäckström at Nolato Sunne says: “The filler neck hose design consists of two layers – an inner layer of fluoroelastomer which provides an effective barrier to evaporative fuel emissions and an outer layer of AEM for stability and ozone resistance.”
The big challenge was to develop an FKM formula that could run smoothly and consistently while being strong enough to be overmoulded without being fully cured.
Injection moulding enables various diameters in hose ends, and ribs and locating marks to be designed onto the outer surface for secure clamping and precise assembly
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Author
Roger Bishop
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Copyright European Automotive Design.
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