The compression and friction of tubular rubber seal under the curved surface loading

In this paper, the mechanical behaviors of the tubular rubber seal under the curved surface loading are studied by the experimental and finite element methods. First, both the compressive behaviors and the frictional performance of the tubular rubber seal under the plane loading are studied experimentally. Second, two-dimensional finite element model about the tubular rubber seal is established and the constitutive model parameters of the rubber seal material are extracted. Finally, the mechanical behavior of the tubular rubber seal under the curved surface loading is investigated by means of the approximation analysis method and the finite element simulation. The results indicate that the physical parameters based on the experiment and finite element method simulation of the tubular rubber seal under the plane loading can describe the mechanical behavior under the curved surface loading. Both the strain distribution of the tubular rubber seal and the driving torque are slightly influenced by the friction coefficient between the tubular rubber seal and the curved surfaces. The influence factor of the friction coefficient on the driving torque is proposed, which plays an important role in the design and evaluation of advanced tubular rubber seal.