O-RING DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT O-RING SQUEEZE, STRETCH, Engineering a New Part and
have Questions?
COMPRESSION, AND MORE
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Our o-ring groove design guides list default o-ring groove dimensions for the most basic at 603-468-3600 or
applications and are intended to be used with the following o-ring groove design considerations
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to engineer on o-ring gland to optimize specific application performance. The wrong size groove
makes even the best o-ring underperform.

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rings and other sealing solutions for multiple industries. With millions of products produced and
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O-Ring Squeeze Face seal:20-30%

Compression Static Male/Female: 18-25%
Reciprocating: 10-20%
Rotary: 0-10%

General rule is 0-5%

O-Ring Installed Stretch Excessive stretch can overstress material,
thin cross section, and reduces % squeeze
% cross section reduction due to stretch
about half of the % ID stretch

Excessive clearance and or pressure can

result in sealextrusion and failure
O-Ring Application Durometer vs. Pressure and Clearance Gap
Pressure  Vs. O-Ring Gland
Clearance Gap Size Chart
Consider use of Back-Ups or product
selection with large gaps or > pressure
 Tolerances should be considered for the O-
O-Ring Tolerances Ring and the gland
Can impact sealing performance and life

Seal material must fill in voids in surface

Static surfaces

- 32Ra to seal liquid

-16Ra to seal gas

O-Ring Gland Surface
Finish Dynamic Surfaces: 8 to 16Ra
Too rough of a surface can result in
abrasion or spiraling, even with a static seal
Lower durometer materials can be used to
seal rough surface finishes

O-Ring Gland Sharp Corners should be chamfered to limit 

Corners damage during seal installation

Gland volume vs. O-Ring volume

About 25% void space or 75% nominal fill

O-Ring Gland Fill % Need space in groove to allow for volume
swell, thermal expansion, and increasing
width due to squeeze
Narrower groove for sealing vacuum or gas
O-Ring can extrude into clearance gap or
get squeezed in two directions
 Too much squeeze on one side and not
enough on the other or none at all
O-Ring Eccentricity & Side Can open too wide a clearance gap and
Loading
result in extrusion of one portion of seal
leading to leaks

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HIGH PRESSURE EXTRUSION

Most o-rings are designed to operate at pressures up to 1,500 psi.  At

higher pressures, the material must have enough strength to resist
extruding into the clearance gap.  The chart shows the recommended
combined limits of clearance, gap, material hardness and system
pressure differential.  To avoid extrusion at high temperature, reduce
the extrusion gap, increase the seal material hardness or add a back-up
ring to the o-ring but will require a wider gland.

Pressure Cycling
Cycling pressure can cause the o-ring to move back and forth within the
gland.  This motion can damage seals with low abrasion resistant
materials.  A higher durometer or an abrasion resistant material is
recommended for these applications.

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FLUID COMPATIBILITY GUIDE O-RING TOLERANCES UNDERSTANDING O-RING

A detailed list of fluids/chemicals with their
compatibility ratings for use with the most
MOLDED TOLERANCES MATERIAL TEST DATA
common O-Ring materials. Standard o-ring tolerance charts, x-ring O-Ring material performance test data
tolerances, molded rubber tolerances, interpretation.
extruded tolerances and rubber sheet
tolerances.

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