Why Rubber Seals Are Damaged

There are many reasons for damage to rubber seals, which can be summarized as follows:

Design errors

1. Underestimation of pressure: The designer underestimates the pressure on the seal, resulting in the seal not being able to withstand the expected pressure in actual operation and causing damage.

2. Incorrect distribution of contact stress: Incorrect understanding of the distribution of contact stress on the sealing surface may lead to damage to the seal due to excessive force in some areas.

3. Unreasonable groove design: Improper groove design for placing seals, such as sharp edges or size mismatch, may cause damage to the seals.

Wrong material selection

1. Unfamiliar with material properties: Designers are unfamiliar with the properties of various rubber materials, which can lead to improper material selection and make seals unable to work properly in specific working environments.

2. Materials that are not adapted to the working environment: For example, materials that are not resistant to high temperatures or corrosion have been selected, and the working environment requires seals to have these properties.

Seal quality problems

1. Unstable quality of raw materials: The quality of seals may be affected by the wrong raw materials or unstable raw material quality during rubber mixing.

2. Production process problems: such as uneven mixing of rubber compounds, and improper vulcanization conditions (temperature, time, pressure, etc.), may lead to substandard seal performance.

Improper storage: Contamination, deformation, or aging of seals during storage can also affect their performance and service life.

Improper use

1. Incorrect use of lubricating oil: The use of lubricating oil that is not compatible with the seal may cause damage to the seal by swelling, softening, or hardening.

2. Installation errors: Seals can be damaged if they are over-stretched, twisted, or compressed unevenly during installation. In addition, the sharp edges and corners of components such as grooves are not eliminated during installation may also cause damage to the seals.

3. Harsh working environment: If there is air in the system, the oil will produce bubbles, and the bubbles will release a lot of energy when they reach the pressure surface on the inside of the seal, which will damage the seal. Too high or too low a system temperature can also affect the performance of the seal.

Improper maintenance and upkeep

1. Failure to replace in a timely manner: Seals are consumable parts that need to be inspected and replaced regularly. If an aging seal is not replaced in a timely manner, it may fail and be damaged.

2. Insufficient cleaning and maintenance: The hydraulic system needs to be cleaned and maintained regularly to ensure the cleanliness of the hydraulic oil and the normal operation of the system. If not cleaned and maintained enough, it can lead to contamination and damage to the seals.

To sum up, there are many reasons for the damage to rubber seals, which need to be comprehensively considered and prevented from multiple links such as design, material selection, production, use, and maintenance. In order to prolong the service life of rubber seals, materials that meet the requirements should be selected, reasonable design and production should be carried out, seals should be used and maintained correctly, and regularly inspected and replaced.