Thermal-Mechanical Coupled FE Analysis for Rotary Shaft Seals

The aim of this paper is to model the steady-state condition of a rotary shaft seal (RSS) system. For this, an iterative thermal-mechanical algorithm was developed based on incremental finite element analyzes. The behavior of the seal’s rubber material was taken into account by a large-strain viscoelastic, so called generalized Maxwell model, based on Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analyses (DMTA) and tensile measurements. The pre-loaded garter spring was modelled with a bilinear material model and the shaft was assumed to be linear elastic. The density, coefficient of thermal expansion and the thermal conductance of the materials were taken into consideration during simulation. The friction between the rotary shaft seal and the shaft was simplified and modelled as a constant parameter. The iterative algorithm was evaluated at two different times, right after assembly and 1 h after assembly, so that rubber material’s stress relaxation effects are also incorporated. The results show good correlation with the literature data, which state that the permissible temperature for NBR70 (nitrile butadiene rubber) material contacting with ~80 mm shaft diameter, rotating at 2600/min is 100°C. The results show 107°C and 104°C for the two iterations. The effect of friction induced temperature, changes the width of the contact area between the seal and the shaft, and significantly reduces the contact pressure.

Design and development of the deep-rock in-situ condition-preserved coring calibration platform

To systematically validate and calibrate the theory and technology of the deep in-situ conditionpreserved coring, the in-situ conditions at different depths should be simulated, and the full-size coring tests should be carried out in this simulated environment. Therefore, a deep-rock in-situ conditionpreserved coring calibration platform was designed and developed. The self-tightening sealing structure and the quick-disassembly structure were designed on the basis of an innovative segmented nonuniformdiameter structure, which was a breakthrough from the traditional high-pressure vessel frame and was verified by finite element simulation and actual testing under extreme working conditions, respectively.To simulate the actual deep in-situ environment with a temperature of 150℃ and pressure of 140 MPa for a large Φ450 mm×H1400 mm core, temperature and pressure control systems were designed by coupling, and a pre-embedded high-pressure-resistant temperature sensor was designed. Finally, highprecision assembly automation, complex movement coordination of the coring device with the platform,and rotary dynamic sealing were achieved by utilizing the combination of adaptive cabin body servo control and an adaptive mechanical structure in a limited space, laying a solid foundation for the calibration of in-situ condition-preserved coring.

Experimental study on the failure factors of the O-ring for long-term working

The O-ring in the rotary dynamic sealing system of gas meters should have outstanding long-term sealing performance under the conditions of high and low temperature,which can ensure the safety of gas meters.In this paper,based on the O-ring sealing mechanism,taking the compression set as the main sealing index,a finite element simulation method is used to analyze the failure charac-teristics under different conditions according to the constitutive relation of nitrile rubber.Then,using the orthogonal test method for the O-ring sealing performance index,the main factors which affect the law of long-term test are analysed,and the orthogonal regression mathematical model that can predict the compression set is obtained.Finally,the O-ring is improved according to the model,and the test results show that the performance of the new O-rings with high and low temperature resistance is greatly improved and meets the expected target requirements.

Theory analyses and applications of magnetic fluids in sealing

Magnetic fluids are the suspensions composed of magnetic nanoparticles,surfactants,and non-magnetic carrier liquids.Magnetic fluids are widely used in various fields,especially in sealing,because of their excellent features,including rapid magnetic response,flexible flow ability,tunable magneto-viscous effect,and reliable self-repairing capability.Here,we provide an in-depth,comprehensive insight into the theoretical analyses and diverse applications of magnetic fluids in sealing from three categories:static sealing,rotary sealing,and reciprocating sealing.We summarize the magnetic fluid sealing mechanisms and the development of magnetic fluid seals from 1960s to the present,particularly focusing on the recent progress of magnetic fluid seals.Although magnetic fluid sealing technology has been commercialized and industrialized,many difficulties still exist in its applications.At the end of the review,the present challenges and future prospects in the progress of magnetic fluid seals are also outlined.

Reliability estimation of rotary lip seal in aircraft utility system based on time-varying dependence degradation model and its experimental validation

With several attractive properties, rotary lip seals are widely used in aircraft utility system, and their reliability estimation has drawn more and more attention. This work proposes a reliability estimation approach based on time-varying dependence analysis. The dependence between the two performance indicators of rotary lip seals, namely leakage rate and friction torque, is modeled by time-varying copula function with polynomial to denote the time-varying parameters, and an efficient copula selection approach is utilized to select the optimal copula function. Parameter estimation is carried out based on a Bayesian method and the reliability during the whole lifetime is calculated based on a Monte Carlo method. Degradation test for rotary lip seal is conducted and the proposed model is validated by test data. The optimal copula function and optimal order of polynomial are determined based on test data. Results show that this model is effective in estimating the reliability of rotary lip seals and can achieve a better goodness of fit.

The effect of texture on the shaft surface on the sealing performance of radial lip seals

On the basis of elastohydrodynamic model,the present study numerically analyzes the effect of various microdimple texture shapes,namely,circular,square,oriented isosceles triangular,on the pumping rate and the friction torque of radial lip seals,and determines the microdimple texture shape that can produce positive pumping rate.The area ratio,depth and shape dimension of a single texture are the most important geometric parameters which influence the tribological performance.According to the selected texture shape,parameter analysis is conducted to determine the optimal combination for the above three parameters.Simultaneously,the simulated performances of radial lip seal with texture on the shaft surface are compared with those of the conventional lip seal without any texture on the shaft surface.