Back-up Rings
Established in 1956, Rothkopf is one of the leading rubber component companies in America to this day. We began with O-rings for fuel systems in aircraft and automobiles, and expanded in response to the needs of our customers. Learn more about back-up rings below.
Back-up rings, as the name implies, back up an O-ring in a high-pressure sealing application. As internal pressure increases, an O-ring will “extrude” part of itself into the sealing gap, where it is worn away over time. This is one of the most common O-ring failure conditions. The means to remedy O-ring extrusion failure include modifying the seal gap, increasing the hardness of the O-ring, or adding a back-up ring.
Modifying the seal gap likely requires re-machining or re-tooling existing components which can be costly. Increasing the hardness (durometer) of the existing O-ring will help, but you may lose some sealing effectiveness at lower pressures and the higher durometer O-ring could be more costly and not as readily available. If neither of these options appeals to you, then adding a back-up ring is a good option.
Rothkopf technical support will guide you through the process and help you get to the optimal and most cost-effective solution.
Back-up rings are made of harder, extrusion-resistant compounds such as Nitrile, Fluorocarbon (FKM), or PTFE. They are designed to fit between the O-ring and sealing gap. If pressure flows in both directions, you’ll need two back-up rings, one on each side of the O-ring. Back-up ring profiles may be rectangular or concave on the face against the O-ring.
We offer back-up rings in standard or custom sizes and shapes, including contoured, flat, split ring, or spiral ring.
Superior quality parts, every time.
Our parts comply with industry and agency standards as indicated:
Buna N/Nitrite
Ethylene Propylene
Fluorocarbon
Fluorosilicone
Hydrogenated Nitrile
Neoprene
Silicone
Teflon
Polyurethane
GLT/GFLT
Custom Formulated
Our parts comply with industry and agency standards as indicated:
Mil-Aero/GPL
NSF
FDA
UL Listed
OEM specified approvals
Product finishing options include:
Teflon Coating (PTFE Resin)
Internal/External Lubrication
Color Coding
O-ring sizes we carry:
Standard
Metric
Custom
Your Back-Up Ring Options
We offer back-up rings in standard or custom sizes and shapes, including contoured, flat, split ring, or spiral ring. Rothkopf technical support will guide you through the process and help you get to the optimal and most cost-effective solution.