TPV Seals for Buildings and Glazing: An Exporter's Guide to Choosing TPV over EPDM and Silicone

Time of issue:2026-09-24 00:00

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TPV Seals for Buildings and Glazing: An Exporter's Guide to Choosing

TPV over EPDM and Silicone

How we formulate TPV weatherseals that survive heat, UV and years of constant compression

Facade temperatures in the Middle East and Southeast Asia push seal materials hard: surface heat above 70 °C, intense UV, ozone, and a gasket that must stay compressed for a decade or more. As the manufacturer of DOWREN TPV compounds, we answer the three questions facade buyers ask most: will the seal take a set, will it age in the sun, and will it extrude fast enough for the project schedule.

Why TPV replaces EPDM and silicone in modern seals

TPV is a dynamically vulcanised EPDM-in-polypropylene blend: it behaves like cured rubber in service but processes like a plastic. Compared with EPDM there is no sulphur cure, trim waste is re-granulated and reused, and one line can co-extrude a soft TPV lip against a rigid PP carrier for snap-fit glazing beads.

Silicone still wins above 200 °C, but a weatherseal never sees that. For curtain-wall gaskets, window sashes and expansion joints, TPV delivers comparable weathering resistance at a clearly lower system cost, and it paints, welds and laser-marks easily.

Figure 1. Extruded TPV seal profile during shore hardness checking in production.

Choosing hardness and section by position

We guide specifiers by sealing position. Curtain-wall weather gaskets work best at 60-70 Shore A, where low compression set keeps contact pressure for years. Window sash and glazing beads run 65-75 Shore A for handling stiffness and clean PP co-extrusion. Expansion-joint seals need 45-60 Shore A to swallow structural movement without losing contact.

What we verify before release

Every compound batch is released against compression set (100 h at 100 °C), hardness, density and accelerated weathering data, with COA, RoHS and REACH documents in the shipment. For facade fabricators we also support profile trials on your extrusion line so compound, screw design and vacuum calibration are tuned together.

Table 1. TPV seal selection by glazing position

Position	Hardness (Shore A)	Critical property	Our grade focus
Curtain-wall weather gasket	60-70	Compression set, UV retention	Low-set heat-ageing grades
Window sash / glazing bead	65-75	Co-extrusion with PP	Bonding-capable compounds
Expansion joint	45-60	Movement tolerance	Low-modulus grades
Secondary smoke seal	Per project spec	Sealing reliability	Project-matched compounds

Work with the manufacturer

DOWREN manufactures and exports TPV, TPE, TPU and TPEE plus engineering plastics including PEEK, PSU/PPSU, PPS, LCP, PPA and PMMA to customers in over 40 countries. Share your application and target specification: we will recommend a grade, provide datasheet, COA and compliance documents, and arrange samples for moulding or extrusion trials. Reach us at www.dowren.com.

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