Effect of roughness on sealing performance of oil seals with surface texture

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to obtain the film thickness, friction torque and pumping rate and analyze the effects of roughness and surface micro-dimple texture (circular, square and equilateral triangle) on the performance of the oil seal.Design/methodology/approachOn the basis of elastohydrodynamic lubrication and the pumping mechanism of rotating shaft seal, this paper establishes a numerical model of hybrid lubrication of oil seal in sealing area. The model is coupled with fluid mechanics, rough peak contact mechanics and deformation analysis.FindingsThe results show that surface texture significantly improves the lubrication properties of the oil seal. The oil seal with the square texture has the largest oil film thickness, while the equilateral triangle texture has a better effect on the pumping rate.Originality/valueTo get closer to the real working environment of the oil seal, based on the surface roughness, this paper studies the effect of the texture shapes applied to the oil seal lip surface on the performance of the oil seal. The critical roughness and rotational speed values with zero pumping rate are obtained, which provides a theoretical basis for the correct selection of oil seals.