The interactions between oil and elastomer occurring during operation of a rotary shaft seal (RWDR) often lead to damage in the sealing zone (e.g. bubbles, cracks, oil carbon). The evaluation of which is a decisive criterion in the assessment of the sealing system. In this research project, the effect of the operating parameters circumferential speed, sump temperature, line load and time on the development of such damage patterns was experimentally investigated using an RWDR tribometer. The focus of the investigations was on bubble formation. Dependencies of bubble formation on individual operating parameters were determined, which have an influence on both the number and the shape of the bubbles. By targeted control of the power dissipation, the processes in the sealing zone could be analysed independently of the thermal power input.
Research Report Published: Processes in the Sealing Zone of an Oil-Elastomer Pairing
From the results obtained, recommendations were derived for preliminary investigations of oil-elastomer pairings to determine their tendency to damage.
Research Center
Hamburg University of Technology
Institut für Modellierung und Berechnung
The DGMK Research Report 779 has been published in German under the title "Einfluss des Reibwerts sowie der Verlustleistung auf die Vorgänge in der Dichtzone einer Öl-Elastomer-Paarung" and can be ordered directly from the DGMK.
The IGF project (19498 N) of the research association DGMK Deutsche Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Erdöl, Erdgas und Kohle e.V., Überseering 40, 22297 Hamburg was funded via the AiF within the framework of the programme for the funding of Industrial Collective Research (IGF) by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag.