Finite Element Analysis provides knowledge to foretell how a seal product will function underneath sure situations and may help establish areas where the design can be improved with out having to check a number of prototypes.
Here we explain how our engineers use FEA to design optimum sealing options for our customer functions.
Why will we use Finite Element Analysis (FEA)?
Our engineers encounter many important sealing functions with complicating influences. Envelope size, housing limitations, shaft speeds, pressure/temperature rankings and chemical media are all software parameters that we should think about when designing a seal.
In isolation, the impact of those software parameters is reasonably easy to predict when designing a sealing resolution. However, when you compound numerous these elements (whilst typically pushing a few of them to their higher restrict when sealing) it’s essential to foretell what will occur in actual utility situations. Using เกจวัดแรงดันน้ำไทวัสดุ as a software, our engineers can confidently design and then manufacture strong, reliable, and cost-effective engineered sealing options for our prospects.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) permits us to understand and quantify the consequences of real-world circumstances on a seal half or assembly. It can be used to establish potential causes where sub-optimal sealing performance has been noticed and may additionally be used to information the design of surrounding parts; particularly for products corresponding to diaphragms and boots the place contact with adjacent parts could have to be prevented.
The software program additionally allows force data to be extracted in order that compressive forces for static seals, and friction forces for dynamic seals may be accurately predicted to help customers in the final design of their products.
How do we use FEA?
Starting with a 2D or 3D model of the preliminary design idea, we apply the boundary situations and constraints equipped by a customer; these can embrace strain, pressure, temperatures, and any utilized displacements. A appropriate finite factor mesh is overlaid onto the seal design. This ensures that the areas of most curiosity return correct outcomes. We can use larger mesh sizes in areas with less relevance (or lower levels of displacement) to minimise the computing time required to solve the mannequin.
Material properties are then assigned to the seal and hardware components. Most sealing materials are non-linear; the quantity they deflect under a rise in force varies depending on how giant that pressure is. This is in contrast to the straight-line relationship for many metals and rigid plastics. This complicates the material model and extends the processing time, but we use in-house tensile take a look at amenities to accurately produce the stress-strain materials models for our compounds to ensure the analysis is as consultant of real-world performance as possible.
What occurs with the FEA data?
The analysis itself can take minutes or hours, depending on the complexity of the half and the vary of operating conditions being modelled. Behind the scenes in 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 particular necessities of the appliance. Examples of these requirements may include sealing at very low temperatures, a have to minimise friction levels with a dynamic seal or the seal may need to resist excessive pressures with out extruding; whatever sealing system properties are most important to the shopper and the application.
Results for the finalised proposal can be presented to the client as force/temperature/stress/time dashboards, numerical knowledge and animations exhibiting how a seal performs all through the evaluation. This info can be utilized as validation knowledge in the customer’s system design process.
An example of FEA
Faced with very tight packaging constraints, this customer requested a diaphragm element for a valve software. By using FEA, we have been in a place to optimise the design; not solely of the elastomer diaphragm itself, but in addition to propose modifications to the hardware components that interfaced with it to extend the obtainable house for the diaphragm. This kept materials stress levels low to take away any risk of fatigue failure of the diaphragm over the life of the valve.
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