Thermal Elastohydrodynamic Model of a Radial Lip Seal—Part I: Analysis and Base Results

Abstract

A numerical thermal elastohydrodynamic model of a radial lip seal, with a flooded air side, has been constructed. The shaft surface is modeled as perfectly smooth, while the lip microgeometry is modeled as a uniform distribution of asperities with initially circular cross-sections. The asperities can deform circumferentially as the bulk lip material shears. Both the viscosity of the fluid and the elastic modulus of the lip are temperature dependent. Model predictions include the pressure distribution in the lubricating film under the lip, the film thickness distribution, the cavitation distribution, the pumping rate, and the lip temperature distribution.