A simulation method to estimate closing forces in car-sealing rubber elements

Abstract

Abstract:The door-closing process can reinforce the impression of a solid, rock-proof, car body or of a rather cheap, flimsy vehicle. As there are no real prototypes during rubber profile bidding-out stages, engineers need to carry out non-linear numerical simulations that involve complex phenomena as well as static and dynamic loads for several profile candidates. This paper presents a structured virtual design tool based on FEM, including constitutive laws and incompressibility constraints allowing to predict more realistically the final closing forces and even to estimate sealing overpressure as an additional guarantee of noise insulation. Comparisons with results of physical tests are performed.Keywords: numerical simulation; product design; large deformations; viscoelastic rubber; nonlinear contact problem; viscoelastic properties; sealing and mechanical operations for rubber.Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ordieres-Meré, J., Muñoz-Munilla, V., Bello-Garcia, A. and González-Marcos, A. (2012) 'A simulation method to estimate closing forces in car-sealing rubber elements', Int.