Finite Element Analysis provides data to foretell how a seal product will perform under certain circumstances and can help establish areas the place the design could be improved with out having to test multiple prototypes.
Here we explain how our engineers use FEA to design optimal sealing solutions for our buyer applications.
Why do we use Finite Element Analysis (FEA)?
Our engineers encounter many critical sealing applications with complicating influences. Envelope size, housing limitations, shaft speeds, pressure/temperature rankings and chemical media are all application parameters that we must contemplate when designing a seal.
In isolation, the influence of these software parameters is reasonably straightforward to foretell when designing a sealing resolution. However, if you compound numerous these components (whilst often pushing a few of them to their higher limit when sealing) it’s essential to predict what goes to happen in real software circumstances. Using FEA as a tool, our engineers can confidently design and then manufacture robust, reliable, and cost-effective engineered sealing solutions for our customers.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) permits us to grasp and quantify the effects of real-world conditions on a seal half or assembly. เกจแรงดัน can be used to identify potential causes the place sub-optimal sealing efficiency has been noticed and can be used to guide the design of surrounding elements; especially for products such as diaphragms and boots where contact with adjoining elements might need to be prevented.
The software program additionally permits pressure information to be extracted in order that compressive forces for static seals, and friction forces for dynamic seals may be precisely predicted to assist clients within the ultimate design of their products.
How can we use FEA?
Starting with a 2D or 3D mannequin of the initial design idea, we apply the boundary circumstances and constraints supplied by a customer; these can embody strain, force, temperatures, and any applied displacements. A suitable finite component mesh is overlaid onto the seal design. This ensures that the areas of most curiosity return accurate outcomes. We can use larger 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 parts. Most sealing materials are non-linear; the quantity they deflect underneath a rise in drive varies depending on how large that pressure is. This is in contrast to the straight-line relationship for most metals and rigid plastics. This complicates the fabric model and extends the processing time, however we use in-house tensile test amenities to precisely produce the stress-strain materials fashions for our compounds to make sure the evaluation is as representative of real-world efficiency as potential.
What occurs with the FEA data?
The analysis itself can take minutes or hours, relying on the complexity of the part and the range of operating circumstances being modelled. Behind the scenes within the software, many lots of of thousands of differential equations are being solved.
The results are analysed by our experienced seal designers to identify areas the place the design can be optimised to match the precise requirements of the appliance. Examples of those necessities may embody sealing at very low temperatures, a must minimise friction ranges with a dynamic seal or the seal may need to resist high pressures with out extruding; no matter sealing system properties are most necessary to the shopper and the appliance.
Results for the finalised proposal can be presented to the shopper as force/temperature/stress/time dashboards, numerical data and animations showing how a seal performs throughout the evaluation. This data can be used as validation data within the customer’s system design process.
An instance of FEA
Faced with very tight packaging constraints, this customer requested a diaphragm element for a valve utility. By utilizing เครื่องมือที่ใช้วัดความดันโลหิต , we have been capable of optimise the design; not only of the elastomer diaphragm itself, but additionally to suggest modifications to the hardware parts that interfaced with it to extend the obtainable space for the diaphragm. This stored materials stress ranges low to remove any chance of fatigue failure of the diaphragm over the life of the valve.
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