Rubber Seals Assessment Based on Friction Torque through FEA and DoE 2011-36-0224

Contact rubber seals have been extensively employed in bearing systems in order to avoid internal dusty contamination and grease leakage. As an inherent consequence, heat and friction losses arises from the sliding contact of these seals.

Indeed, the increasing speed of mechanisms, warranted by the desire for increase power, leads to higher operating temperatures and reduced fluid viscosities, associated with higher pressures, what cause an increasing tendency for fluids to leak. Such characteristics require the design of high performance sealing systems to avoid grease leakage and bearing contamination, but at low rates of friction and heat generation. [1]

By means of Finite Element Analysis and Experimental Procedures such as DoE, this study aims to isolate and evaluate the influence of the seal design and its several parameters on the friction variables such as resistance torque.