Radial shaft seal failure investigation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to use root cause failure analysis method to investigate and resolve reliability related problems of radial shaft seals in order to help designers and manufacturers to improve the product validation process. Previous studies have revealed that lifespan and performance of hydraulic motors are significantly affected by the reliability of the sealing solution. The key point for achieving lifetime of radial shaft seal improvement is to deeply understand seals applications duty cycle, which leads to specific failures modes. In this paper, the factors relating to life of radial shaft seals are investigated and discussed. The application of root cause failure analysis method used on field data, experimental tests and numerical simulations aimed at reproducing of a defect, accelerating test and estimating the lifespan of a seal have been presented. Obtained results show a good agreement between on field data and experimental tests, as well as the strong impact of operating conditions on the radial shaft seal lifespan.