An approach simulating interacting solid, liquid, and gas domains for dynamic seal applications

Abstract

In seal applications a solid elastic body (the seal) ensures the separation of a liquid (e.g., hydraulic oil in one chamber) from a gas (e.g., air in another chamber). In the case of a dynamic seal, the rod is moving and transports a thin liquid film from the liquid chamber into the air chamber. The seal gap consists of a converging gap, a minimum distance between seal and rod and a diverging gap, where transported liquid detaches from the seal. Between the three states of matter (gas, liquid, gas) appear the following contact conditions: liquid‐to‐solid, gas‐to‐liquid, and gas‐to‐solid. A classical fluid‐structure‐interaction is technically possible with limited effort, but is not sufficient to distinguish between the liquid and the gas. A solution can make use of the fact, that the liquid has significant dimensions only in the liquid chamber and is pressurized only there. There is a thin liquid film on the rod in the air chamber, but it has dimensions clearly lower than the air chamber and has the same pressure as the air. Therefore a simulation is possible with the “variable viscosity approach”: Liquid and gas are modeled in one single fluid domain. Differences between liquid and gas are included by pressure‐dependent fluid parameters, especially viscosity and density. The resulting violation of the mass balance is very small as the low mass flow through the seal lip is low. The presented approach allows to apply a fluid‐structure simulation with special fluid properties to model a system with three states of matter. Advantages are a less complex model with less complex contact conditions and a reduced simulation time.