Flexible graphite gaskets will handle higher temperatures than any elastomeric of non-asbestos gasketing and handle a ph range from 0-14. Developed originally by Union Carbide under the brand name ” Grafoil “. Common grades include GHL, GHE, GHR, GTB, GTA, GHP Flexible graphite solves industries difficult sealing applications.
Flexible graphite is manufactured from mineral graphite (expandable flake graphite). It is also called graphite foil, or referred to by a brand name such as Grafoil®. As its name indicates, flexible graphite is flexible and conformable, an ideal property as a gasket material. Flexible graphite can also be used in many other thermal, electronic or electrochemical applications.Flexible graphite is a soft sheet form of compressed natural graphite made from exfoliated mineral flake(crystalline) graphite. Due to its flexible texture, it is referred to as flexible graphite to distinguish it from other forms of graphite materials: flake graphite, amorphous graphite, artificial graphite (hard graphite), graphite electrodes, graphite/carbon fiber, etc. Sometimes flexible graphite is also referred to by a manufacturer’s brand name like grafoil.
Natural mineral graphite is unique. It is a non-metallic mineral, but is thermally and electrically conductive like metal. It is formed with element carbon, the same as the hardest mineral – diamond, but graphite is the softest mineral. Natural mineral graphite is inert to most chemicals, resistant to heat up to several thousand degrees. All these characteristics contribute to the mineral graphite crystalline structure. In the structure, the hexagonal bond is strong, but the bond between layers is weak. By breaking the bond between layers, the mineral graphite can be exfoliated several hundred times bigger. By compressing the exfoliated graphite into sheet form, flexible graphite is made.