2016 International Conference on Applied Mechanics, Mechanical and Materials Engineering (AMMME 2016)

ISBN: 978-1-60595-409-7

Contact Stress Analysis of Metal Rubber Seals Based on Finite Element

Hui YAN, Tao YUAN, Xiang BI, Ya-lei ZHAO,

Dong-sheng YANG and Hong-yuan JIANG*
School of Mechatronic Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
*Corresponding author

Keywords: Metal rubber seals, Finite element analysis, Contact stress, Friction.

Abstract. The application of metal rubber (MR) materials in sealing is rather important in its research
field. Contact model of MR in sealing system was established through software ANSYS in this paper.
Then contact stress of MR seals in the process of sealing was analyzed under different oil pressure and
compression ratio, which of great significance in studying properties of MR seals.

Introduction
Sealing in the field of aerospace remains the focus in national defense area[1], as the performance
and longevity of the sealing devices are directly related to the reliability, safety and maintainability of
the aerospace equipment. With the development of aerospace technology, aerospace equipment, such
as aircraft landing gear cushioning device, put higher demand on sealing technology. MR has superior
features, and it could be used under high temperature, strong pressure and in corrosive media, high
vacuum and ultra-low temperature. Therefore, it could be used in aerospace products sealing[2-6].
In this paper, through software ANSYS, MR seals model was established, and the effects of oil
pressure and compression ratio on contact stress are also calculated and analyzed. Results of this
study will help to simplify the analysis of MR seals contact problem and the design of seals.

Establishment of Model
As the sealing system composed by sleeve, reciprocating shaft and MR seals is axisymmetric, the
contact model of sealing system can be simplified as a plane axisymmetric model. The model
established is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1. Contact model of sealing system.

Model Assumptions
During the analysis, the following are assumptions of the characteristics of the materials:
1. Elastic modulus and Poisson ratio of MR seals are determined.
2. The deformation of sleeve and reciprocating shaft is much tinier than MR seals, so the
deformation of sleeve and reciprocating shaft is ignored. And sleeve and reciprocating shaft are
regarded as a rigid boundary in this paper.
Settings of Unit Type and Real Constant

The focus of this paper is mainly MR with relative density of 0.40, elastic modulus of 8.67MPa and
Poisson ratio of 0.03 [7].
 Unit PLANE182 is suitable for the establishment of two-dimensional solid model. The unit has
capacities of plasticity, super-elasticity, stress rigidity, deformation and strain. Deformation of nearly
incompressible elastoplastic materials and incompressible hyperelastic material could be simulated
by it, so sleeve and reciprocating shaft both could adopt the unit. Material mode Mooney-Rivlin is
applicable for seals. The elastic modulus of sleeve and reciprocating shaft is 8MPa and the Poisson
ratio is 0.3. The model also includes surface contact elements TARGE169 and CONTAl72 which are
automatically generated when the contact pairs are established.
Meshing
In meshing, quadrilateral elements that could undergo deformation are selected. Since the sealing
structure is not regular, the method of free meshing is adopted and key parts or extracted data are
partially refined. The finite element model after meshing is shown in figure 2.

Figure 2. Finite element model.

Establishment of Contact Pairs

There are three contact pairs in this paper. The first one is between seals and sleeve bore surface, the
second one is between seals and reciprocating shaft surface and the last one is between seals and
sleeve groove wall.
Boundary Conditions and Loading Methods
It is interference fitting among seals, reciprocating shaft and sleeve while the interference size is
0.35mm. The sleeve was set as fully constrained and the load was applied in three steps. In the load
step 1 the shaft was moved down by 0.35mm to simulate interference fit. In the load step 2. oil
pressure P was applied to seals. In the load step 3. the shaft was moved right by 3mm to simulate the
movement of the shaft. By reading the result of load step 2, the force and deformation of static sealing
system could be observed. By reading the result of load step 3, the force and deformation of dynamic
sealing system was clearly shown.
Post-processing Results
Through finite element analysis, deformation and contact stress distribution of sealing system could
be acquired.
Deformation of sealing system after each load step is clearly shown in figure 3.

a)Load step 1 b)Load step 2 c)Load step 3

Figure 3. Deformation of sealing system.
Figure 4 shows distribution of contact stress in sealing system. The intensity of contact stress
reflects the sealing ability of seals. With the increase of fluid medium pressure (referring to oil
pressure), contact stress of seals would also increase. The maximum contact stress is always greater
than fluid pressure, which ensures the sealing function of O-shaped seals.
 a)Load step 1 b)Load step 2 c)Load step 3
Figure 4. Distribution of contact stress in sealing system.

Result Analysis

Analysis of Different Oil Pressure

Through finite element analysis, distribution diagram of contact stress in sealing system could be
acquired. The focus of this paper is on the contact stress between seals and shaft. By the method of
data fitting, the distribution curve of contact stress following the axial contact area could be obtained.
Figure 5 is the distribution curve of the contact stress under different oil pressure.

a) P=8MPa b) P=9MPa c) P=10MPa

d) P=11MPa e) P=12MPa
Figure 5. Distribution diagram of seals contact stress.
Integration of contact stress is contact pressure, by which multiply friction coefficient could get
friction simulation value of seals under different oil pressure.
This research has conducted friction tests for metal rubber seals. Figure 6 is shows the friction of
seals under different oil pressure.
From the figure, it could be seen that changing trends of seals friction are identical for experimental
values and simulation values and the errors are reasonable. The model meets the requirements, and
could be used in simulation.
The results show that with the increase of oil pressure, contact stress also increases.
 Figure 6. Comparison of seals friction.

Analysis of Different Compression Ration

In the above analysis, compression amount is 0.35mm and compression ratio is 8.14%. In this part,
the influence of compression ratio on contact stress of metal rubber seals would be analysis.
Compression amount of 0.15mm, 0.35mm, 0.55mm and 0.75mm are selected to conduct
simulation research, and their compression ratio are 3.49%, 8.14%, 12.79% and 17.44% respectively.
Oil pressure is controlled as 8Mpa in simulation. Figure 7 is distribution of contact stress under
different compression ratio in sealing system.

δ = 0.15mm δ = 0.35mm δ = 0.55mm δ = 0.75mm

Figure 7. Contact stress in sealing system.
Figure 8 is comparison of seals contact stress. It shows that the maximum contact stress and contact
width increase with the increase of compression ratio.

Figure 8. Comparison of seals contact stress.

Conclusion
1. This paper has established a finite element model through the software of ANSYS and made an
analysis of MR seals based on the model. It is beneficial for the analysis of highly nonlinear contact
issues. It also simplifies the analysis of contact issues for MR seals as well as the design of seals.
 2. This paper has analyzed the changing of MR seals contact stress under different oil stress or
under different compression ratio. The results show that max contact stress increases as oil pressure
increases. Max contact stress and contact width increase as compression ratio increase.

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