Finite Element Analysis supplies data to predict how a seal product will function under certain conditions and can help determine areas where the design could 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 buyer purposes.
Why will we use Finite Element Analysis (FEA)?
Our engineers encounter many important sealing functions with complicating influences. Envelope dimension, housing limitations, shaft speeds, pressure/temperature scores and chemical media are all utility parameters that we must think about when designing a seal.
In isolation, the influence of those software parameters within reason straightforward to foretell when designing a sealing resolution. However, when you compound a variety of these factors (whilst often pushing some of them to their upper restrict when sealing) it is crucial to predict what will happen in actual utility conditions. Using FEA as a device, our engineers can confidently design after which manufacture sturdy, dependable, and cost-effective engineered sealing options for our prospects.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) permits us to know and quantify the results of real-world situations on a seal half or meeting. It can be utilized to identify potential causes where sub-optimal sealing performance has been noticed and can additionally be used to information the design of surrounding elements; especially for products corresponding to diaphragms and boots where contact with adjacent parts might need to be averted.
The software also permits pressure knowledge to be extracted in order that compressive forces for static seals, and friction forces for dynamic seals can be precisely predicted to help customers within the final design of their products.
How will we use FEA?
Starting with a 2D or 3D mannequin of the preliminary design idea, we apply the boundary conditions and constraints equipped by a buyer; these can embrace stress, drive, temperatures, and any applied displacements. A appropriate finite element mesh is overlaid onto the seal design. This ensures that the areas of most curiosity return accurate results. We can use larger mesh sizes in areas with less relevance (or decrease ranges of displacement) to minimise the computing time required to resolve the model.
Material properties are then assigned to the seal and hardware elements. Most sealing supplies are non-linear; the quantity they deflect beneath a rise in force varies depending on how large that drive is. This is in distinction to the straight-line relationship for most metals and rigid plastics. This complicates the fabric model and extends the processing time, but we use in-house tensile take a look at services to precisely produce the stress-strain materials fashions for our compounds to ensure the analysis is as representative of real-world efficiency as potential.
What happens with the FEA data?
The analysis itself can take minutes or hours, relying on the complexity of the part and the vary of operating situations being modelled. Behind the scenes in the software program, many tons of of hundreds of differential equations are being solved.
The outcomes are analysed by our experienced seal designers to determine areas where the design may be optimised to match the specific necessities of the application. Examples of these requirements may include sealing at very low temperatures, a need to minimise friction levels with a dynamic seal or the seal may need to withstand high pressures with out extruding; whatever sealing system properties are most necessary to the customer and the applying.
Results for the finalised proposal could be presented to the shopper as force/temperature/stress/time dashboards, numerical information and animations showing how a seal performs throughout the analysis. This info can be utilized as validation knowledge within the customer’s system design process.
เกจวัดแรงดันลมคือ of FEA
Faced with very tight packaging constraints, this customer requested a diaphragm part for a valve application. By utilizing FEA, we had been able to optimise the design; not solely of the elastomer diaphragm itself, but also to suggest modifications to the hardware components that interfaced with it to extend the obtainable house for the diaphragm. This saved material stress levels low to take away any risk of fatigue failure of the diaphragm over the lifetime of the valve.
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