TRIBOLOGY OF ELASTOMERIC LIP SEALS ON SUPERFINISHED AND SANDED SHAFT

The lubrication, friction and wear, i.e. the tribology of elastomeric lip seals is influenced by the elastomer, the geometry, the fluid, the shaft surface and the operating conditions. Due to faster and newer production methods of shafts, new problems arise. These methods are offered as "lead-free production method" and therefore as a perfect replacement of the standard methods. In some cases the system works well, but in others leakage is the result. In this paper the phenomenological background and how those surfaces have to be analysed are explained.