MEASUREMENT OF CONTACT PRESSURE IN PNEUMATIC ACTUATOR SEALS

This paper presents an expe rimental procedure for measuring contact pressure between a pneumatic actuators lip seal and its counterpart. Measurements were performed in static conditions, by means of an experimental test rig. The test rig, properly designed in order to reproduce real operating conditions, allowed measurements on a lip seal rectilinear specimen. The seal sample was faced to a plate, representing the cylinder rod surface, made of the same material and having the same roughness of the cylinder rod. Contact pressure was evaluated by means of a film sensor interposed between the seal and the faced surface. Tests were carried out under different load conditions. A suitable procedure was developed for the used film sensor calibration. Results, gathered using the herein described experimental procedure, were compared with numerical results, obtained by simulations performed using a FEM commercial code. A good agreement was found out between the differently gathered data.

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