Wheel Bearing Rubber Seal

About Wheel Bearing Rubber Seal

Wheel bearing rubber seal is a kind of seal made of rubber material. It is mainly used in automobile wheel hub bearing parts to seal and protect. Due to the complex and changeable operating environment of automobiles, seals need to withstand a variety of pressures, temperatures and corrosion from chemical substances, so the requirements for their performance and service life are high.

Structure and Materials

Wheel bearing rubber seal have various structures and shapes. Common ones include O-rings, V-rings, U-rings, etc. These seals are usually made of nitrile rubber (NBR) or fluoroelastomer (FKM), which have good oil, corrosion and high temperature resistance. In addition, the hardness of the sealing ring is also an important parameter. Too hard or too soft will affect its sealing performance and service life.

Performance Characteristics

1. Sealing performance: The sealing performance of wheel bearing rubber seal is one of its most important properties. During the operation of the car, the sealing ring needs to withstand the erosion of various substances such as lubricating oil and dust. It also needs to withstand changes in temperature and pressure, so it needs to have good sealing performance and service life.

2. High temperature resistance: During the operation of the car, the temperature of the wheel hub will continue to rise, so the sealing ring needs to have good high temperature resistance. Materials such as nitrile rubber and fluorine rubber have good high temperature resistance and can maintain good performance and stability in high temperature environments.

3. Corrosion resistance: wheel bearing rubber seal needs to resist the erosion of various chemical substances, such as lubricating oil, antifreeze, brake oil, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to choose materials with good corrosion resistance, such as nitrile rubber and fluorine rubber.

4. Elasticity and wear resistance: The hub bearing rubber seal needs to have good elasticity and wear resistance to ensure its normal operation and service life. The elasticity can ensure that the sealing ring can adapt to different usage environments, and the wear resistance can ensure that it will not wear or age easily during use.

Sealing Principle

The sealing principle of the wheel bearing rubber seal is to utilize the elasticity of the rubber material and form an airtight pressure chamber between the sealing material and the surface of the shaft to achieve sealing protection for the bearing and lubricating oil. The following is its detailed sealing principle:

1. Pre-compression: The wheel bearing rubber seal will be pre-compressed during installation. This pre-compression can produce a certain degree of elasticity and rebound force, allowing the sealing ring to closely fit on the surface of the shaft to form an effective seal.

2. Elastic adaptation: The material of the hub bearing rubber seal has good elasticity and can adapt to the surface contour of the shaft, further enhancing the sealing effect.

3. Formation of an airtight pressure chamber: An airtight pressure chamber will be formed between the sealing material and the surface of the shaft. This pressure chamber can effectively prevent lubricating oil, dust and other substances from entering the inside of the wheel hub bearing.

4. Adaptive maintenance and protection of bearings and lubricating oil: When the steering external force centered on the shaft acts on the wheel hub, the hub oil seal can adaptively maintain and protect the bearings and lubricating oil. This is because the pressure chamber formed between the sealing material and the surface of the shaft can maintain a certain pressure and prevent lubricating oil and dust from entering.

5. The function of the spring ring: A spring ring is added inside the wheel bearing rubber seal. The elasticity of the spring ring can effectively compensate for the elasticity and rebound force of the sealing material, so that it always maintains close contact with the shaft surface, thus ensuring the sealing effect.

Test Methods

The testing methods of hub bearing rubber seals mainly include dimensional inspection and performance testing.

■ Dimensional inspection: By measuring the outer diameter, inner diameter, width and other dimensional parameters of the hub bearing rubber seal, ensure that it meets the design requirements. At the same time, check the appearance quality of the sealing ring, such as whether there are bubbles, impurities, cracks and other defects.

■ Performance testing: The performance testing of hub bearing rubber seals mainly includes the following aspects:

1. High temperature resistance performance test: In high temperature environment, test the dimensional stability, hardness change and other performance indicators of the wheel hub bearing rubber seal to ensure that it can still maintain excellent performance under high temperature.

2. Corrosion resistance test: Test the corrosion resistance of the hub bearing rubber seal by immersing it in corrosive media or simulating the corrosion conditions in the actual use environment to evaluate its durability in actual use.

3. Sealing performance test: By simulating actual working conditions in the experimental device, the bearing rubber seal is pressurized and depressurized to test its sealing performance and air tightness to evaluate its sealing effect in actual use.

4. Friction performance test: By measuring the friction coefficient, wear amount and other parameters between the bearing rubber seal ring and the shaft, evaluate its friction performance and wear in long-term use.

In addition to the above test methods, customized tests can also be conducted based on actual needs for different usage environments and working conditions to ensure that the wheel bearing rubber seal ring can perform well in actual use.