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In the modelling of the leakage rate, friction force or contact pressure distribution of hydraulic seals is quite common to assume the mating surfaces to be characterized by a random isotropic roughness. However, due to different surface finishing methods, such as coating, grinding or polishing, roughness with anisotropic characteristics is often generated. In this paper a first experimental investigation of the influence of such anisotropic surfaces on the sliding friction is provided. For this purpose, a test rig has been designed and set up to investigate a soft, lubricated line contact representative of a generic reciprocating hydraulic seal. In particular, an O-ring cord is squeezed into contact with a steady rotating rigid cylinder. In order to adopt a cylinder-on-flat configuration, the diameter of the rigid cylinder is chosen to be significantly larger than the O-ring (cross-section) diameter. Furthermore, three cylinders with different surfaces are used: One (sandblasted) isotropic surface and two anisotropic surfaces roughness, scratched perpendicularly or along the azimuthal direction. Therefore, under temperature control, Stribeck curves have been measured at different squeezing loads and surface roughness, showing a neat influence of the surface roughness characteristics on the friction force. Finally, the experimental results are compared with the predictions provided by a recent mean field theory of soft contact (e.g. rubber) lubrication.

Seals are crucial machine elements in hydraulic devices. However, especially with regard to dynamic seals – for example in cylinder applications – the physical understanding of the sealing mechanism is still insufficient. In this paper a physically based, transient elastohydrodynamic simulation for translational hydraulic seals is presented. The deformation of the seal is calculated in a dynamic finite element (FE) simulation, hyper- and viscoelastic material properties are taken into account. For the numerical calculation of the fluid film and its influences on the seal deformation the FE simulation is coupled with an implementation of the transient Reynold’s equation. For a physically based calculation of the solid contact, the FE-model is coupled with Persson’s theory of rubber friction and contact mechanics. Both, normal force and solid friction are implemented. In a simulation study the influence of the relative velocity in the contact between the elastic, highly deformable seal and a hard cylinder is investigated. The initial phase of motion is investigated in detail. The simulation results are compared to experimental data of a lubricated sliding contact between an nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) O-ring and a rough steel surface.

A huge number of technological and biological systems involves the lubricated contact between rough surfaces of soft solids in relative accelerated motion. Examples include dynamical rubber seals and the human joints. In this study we consider an elastic cylinder with random surface roughness in accelerated sliding motion on a rigid, perfectly flat (no roughness) substrate in a fluid. We calculate the surface deformations, interface separation and the contributions to the friction force and the normal force from the area of real contact and from the fluid. The driving velocity profile as a function of time is assumed to be either a sine-function, or a linear multi-ramp function. We show how the squeeze-in and squeeze-out processes, occurring in accelerated sliding, quantitatively affect the Stribeck curve with respect to the steady sliding. Finally, the theory results are compared to experimental data.