Chapter Six

Design of seals
Introduction
• The purpose of seal is to prevent or limit flow between
components
•Seals protect critical components by excluding contaminants or by
retaining fluids inside the housing of a machine
• Seals are an important part of machine design in situations where
the following conditions apply:
1. Contaminants must be excluded from critical areas of a machine.
2. Lubricants must be contained within a space.
3. Pressurized fluids must be contained within a component such as a
valve or a hydraulic cylinder.

(seals Selected from catalogues)

1
•The parameters affecting the choice of sealing system, the
materials used, and the details of its design.(considerations)
1. The nature of the fluids to be contained or excluded.
2. Pressures on both sides of the seal.
3. The nature of any relative motion between the seal and the
mating component,.
4. Temperatures on all parts of the sealing system.
5. The degree of sealing required: level of leakage permissible
6. The life expectancy of the system.
7. The nature of the solid materials against which the seal
must act: corrosion potential, smoothness, hardness, wear
resistance.
8. Ease of service for replacement of worn sealing elements

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15