Effect of misalignments on the tribological performance of elastomeric rod lip seals: Study methodology and case study

The main objective of this work is to determine the effects of unavoidable eccentricities on the tribological behaviour of elastomeric rod lip seals, in an attempt to contribute to the lack of studies related to this issue. To this aim, this work addresses the study of how rod radial eccentricities affect the main tribological parameters, such as contact force and contact temperature distributions on seals, the friction generated and the progress of wear, during operation. The investigation carried out combines different analytical, numerical and experimental methods. Results demonstrated that small misalignments may accelerate considerably the wear and degradation of elastomeric seals, and lead to a considerable friction force rise.