Finite Element Analysis supplies data to predict how a seal product will operate beneath sure situations and can help establish areas where the design can be improved without having to test a quantity of prototypes.
Here we explain how our engineers use FEA to design optimal sealing options for our buyer purposes.
Why can we use Finite Element Analysis (FEA)?
Our engineers encounter many critical sealing functions with complicating influences. Envelope size, housing limitations, shaft speeds, pressure/temperature rankings and chemical media are all application parameters that we should think about when designing a seal.
In isolation, the impact of those utility parameters within reason straightforward to foretell when designing a sealing answer. However, whenever you compound a number of these factors (whilst often pushing a few of them to their upper limit when sealing) it’s crucial to foretell what will occur in real application conditions. Using FEA as a device, our engineers can confidently design after which manufacture strong, reliable, and cost-effective engineered sealing options for our customers.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) permits us to grasp and quantify the results of real-world conditions on a seal part or assembly. It can be used to determine potential causes where sub-optimal sealing performance has been noticed and can additionally be used to information the design of surrounding parts; especially for merchandise similar to diaphragms and boots the place contact with adjoining elements may have to be avoided.
The software program also allows pressure data to be extracted so that compressive forces for static seals, and friction forces for dynamic seals can be accurately predicted to assist prospects within the last design of their products.
How do we use FEA?
Starting with a 2D or 3D model of the preliminary design concept, we apply the boundary situations and constraints supplied by a customer; these can embody pressure, drive, temperatures, and any applied displacements. A suitable finite component mesh is overlaid onto the seal design. เกจวัดแรงดันpcp ensures that the areas of most curiosity return correct outcomes. We can use bigger mesh sizes in areas with much less relevance (or lower ranges of displacement) to minimise the computing time required to resolve the mannequin.
Material properties are then assigned to the seal and hardware components. Most sealing supplies are non-linear; the quantity they deflect under a rise in drive varies depending on how giant that pressure is. This is in contrast to the straight-line relationship for most metals and rigid plastics. This complicates the material mannequin and extends the processing time, however we use in-house tensile take a look at facilities to accurately produce the stress-strain materials fashions for our compounds to make sure the evaluation is as consultant of real-world efficiency as possible.
What happens with the FEA data?
The evaluation itself can take minutes or hours, relying on the complexity of the half and the range of working situations being modelled. Behind the scenes within the software program, many tons of of 1000’s of differential equations are being solved.
The outcomes are analysed by our skilled seal designers to establish areas the place the design can be optimised to match the specific requirements of the appliance. Examples of those requirements may include sealing at very low temperatures, a have to minimise friction ranges with a dynamic seal or the seal may have to face up to excessive pressures with out extruding; whatever sealing system properties are most essential to the client and the appliance.
Results for the finalised proposal may be introduced to the customer as force/temperature/stress/time dashboards, numerical information and animations showing how a seal performs throughout the evaluation. This data can be utilized as validation knowledge in the customer’s system design process.
An instance of FEA
Faced with very tight packaging constraints, this customer requested a diaphragm part for a valve software. By using FEA, we had been capable of optimise the design; not solely of the elastomer diaphragm itself, but in addition to propose modifications to the hardware elements that interfaced with it to extend the available space for the diaphragm. This saved materials stress levels low to remove any possibility of fatigue failure of the diaphragm over the life of the valve.
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November 3, 2023
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