Finite Element Analysis supplies data to predict how a seal product will function underneath sure situations and might help establish areas the place the design may be improved with out having to test a quantity of prototypes.
Here we explain how our engineers use FEA to design optimal sealing solutions for our buyer functions.
Why will we use Finite Element Analysis (FEA)?
Our engineers encounter many crucial sealing purposes with complicating influences. Envelope dimension, housing limitations, shaft speeds, pressure/temperature scores and chemical media are all application parameters that we must consider when designing a seal.
In isolation, the impact of these software parameters is fairly easy to foretell when designing a sealing resolution. However, whenever you compound a selection of these factors (whilst usually pushing a few of them to their higher restrict when sealing) it’s essential to foretell what will happen in real utility circumstances. Using FEA as a tool, our engineers can confidently design and then manufacture strong, reliable, and cost-effective engineered sealing solutions for our customers.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) allows us to grasp and quantify the results of real-world circumstances on a seal half or assembly. It can be used to identify potential causes where sub-optimal sealing efficiency has been noticed and may also be used to guide the design of surrounding parts; especially for merchandise such as diaphragms and boots where contact with adjoining parts could must be prevented.
The software additionally allows pressure information to be extracted in order that compressive forces for static seals, and friction forces for dynamic seals may be precisely predicted to help clients within the last design of their merchandise.
How can we use FEA?
Starting with a 2D or 3D model of the initial design concept, we apply the boundary conditions and constraints provided by a customer; these can include stress, pressure, temperatures, and any applied displacements. A suitable finite element mesh is overlaid onto the seal design. This ensures that the areas of most interest return correct outcomes. We can use bigger mesh sizes in areas with much less relevance (or decrease levels of displacement) to minimise the computing time required to unravel the mannequin.
Material properties are then assigned to the seal and hardware components. Most sealing materials are non-linear; the amount they deflect underneath a rise in pressure varies depending on how large that drive is. This is unlike the straight-line relationship for most metals and rigid plastics. This complicates the fabric mannequin and extends the processing time, however we use in-house tensile take a look at amenities to accurately produce the stress-strain materials models for our compounds to ensure 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, depending on the complexity of the part and the range of operating conditions being modelled. Behind เกจ์วัดแรงดันแก๊ส within the software, many hundreds of 1000’s of differential equations are being solved.
The results are analysed by our experienced seal designers to establish areas the place the design may be optimised to match the precise necessities of the applying. Examples of those necessities could embody sealing at very low temperatures, a need to minimise friction ranges with a dynamic seal or the seal may have to withstand high pressures without extruding; no matter sealing system properties are most necessary to the customer and the appliance.
Results for the finalised proposal can be introduced to the shopper as force/temperature/stress/time dashboards, numerical information and animations showing how a seal performs throughout the analysis. This information can be used as validation data within the customer’s system design process.
An example of FEA
Faced with very tight packaging constraints, this customer requested a diaphragm part for a valve application. By utilizing FEA, we have been able to optimise the design; not solely of the elastomer diaphragm itself, but in addition to suggest modifications to the hardware elements that interfaced with it to increase the obtainable house for the diaphragm. This saved materials stress ranges low to take away any chance of fatigue failure of the diaphragm over the lifetime of the valve.
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