{"id":24320,"date":"2019-10-25T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T06:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nh-oring.de\/what-are-the-main-causes-of-damage-to-o-rings\/"},"modified":"2023-12-06T11:51:52","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T10:51:52","slug":"what-are-the-main-causes-of-damage-to-o-rings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nh-oring.de\/en\/what-are-the-main-causes-of-damage-to-o-rings\/","title":{"rendered":"O-RING CAUSES OF DAMAGE"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What are the main causes of damage to O-rings?<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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#1<\/span> O-rings: a lot of damage is avoidable<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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#2<\/span> Why damage analysis is so important<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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#3<\/span> Causes of damage to O-rings<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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#4Damage<\/span>due to media exposure<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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#5<\/span> Damage due to temperature and ageing<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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#6<\/span> Damage due to impermissible physical stress<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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#7<\/span> Manufacturing-related damage<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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#8<\/span> Avoid premature failures - use expert advice<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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#1<\/span> O-rings: a lot of damage is avoidable<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Users hardly notice a well-functioning seal: it performs reliably over a long period of time. <\/p>\n

Once a seal comes into focus, this usually has unpleasant consequences. Because if a machine comes to an unscheduled standstill due to a leak, there is a risk of high sales losses.<\/p>\n

This risk is very high for highly networked production systems. These are particularly prevalent in the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, where O-rings also encounter challenging operating conditions. Particularly high or cold temperatures, aggressive media and high pressures put the seals to the test. <\/p>\n

Machine failures are not the only problem: other potential consequences of a failed seal are more difficult to quantify. These include recalls of products that have been produced under undetermined production conditions or environmental damage caused by leaks of hazardous substances.<\/p>\n

A look at the most common causes of damage to O-rings shows that our customers can avoid many failures in practice with simple measures. In this article, we provide an overview of the main reasons for O-ring failure and how these can be avoided.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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#2<\/span> Why damage analysis is so important<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Every practitioner knows that if you want to increase the reliability of waterproofing, you should look for the cause in the event of damage. <\/p>\n

A reason for the seal defect can often be identified. In more complex cases, the interaction of several causes can lead to a leak, but here too a damage analysis enables the experts to at least rule out uninvolved factors as the cause.<\/p>\n

Assembly, installation space and operating conditions stress the O-ring during use. To check whether the engineers have selected the right solution for the sealing task, all these factors need to be scrutinized. <\/p>\n

In addition, the sealing elements can be exposed to undesirable influences during manufacture and storage until they are used. An expert eye and experience in dealing with seals often provide valuable information about the causes of damage. <\/p>\n

In many cases, this eliminates the need for time-consuming and expensive physical and chemical tests in the laboratory. Depending on the application, however, detailed analysis measures such as spectroscopy or chromatographic methods may also be necessary. However, the time for this is usually only found afterwards, as the maintenance technician has to act quickly to minimize the interruption to production operations.<\/p>\n

In any case, it is important to draw the right conclusions from the test results in order to improve the performance of the seal in the future. This is where the exchange of experience with O-ring experts from manufacturers and specialist dealers pays off. <\/p>\n

From working with customers from various industries in application support, they are familiar with many cases of damage and suitable countermeasures for the sealing system.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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#3<\/span> \n Causes of damage to O-rings<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Experts divide the causes of seal defects into four categories. <\/p>\n

They distinguish between damage caused by the effects of process media, the weakening of the material due to temperature and ageing, manufacturing defects and impermissible physical stresses.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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#4<\/span> Damage due to media exposure<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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An unsuitable combination of sealing material and medium can lead to severe swelling of the O-ring. This happens when the medium penetrates the sealing material. <\/p>\n

In the opposite case, shrinkage is also possible. The medium causes this by dissolving compound components from the material of the O-ring. Media exposure is not limited to ongoing operation. <\/p>\n

Unsuitable assembly oils or greases can chemically damage the O-rings before they are used. Both phenomena result in a change in the material properties. As a result, rubber elasticity, the very property that makes elastomers so suitable for sealing applications, suffers. <\/p>\n

Cracks and embrittlement often occur. The effect of the media can also manifest itself in the form of permanent deformation. Another indication of media exposure is the feel of the O-ring. This is because under the influence of the media, the possibly. the surface structure and the O-ring feel a little “muddy”.<\/p>\n

This all happens when O-rings come into contact with media for which they are not suitable. This does not always have to be because the designer has disregarded the resistance list issued by the seal manufacturer.<\/p>\n

Operating conditions that deviate from the original planning or simply a mix-up in the bearing can also be responsible for the impermissible pairing of O-ring and media. The widely used O-rings made of FFKM (perfluoro rubber) are a good example: They are known for their particularly wide range of applications. <\/p>\n

However, in contact with hot water above 150 degrees, common material formulations show severe deformation after just a few weeks, causing the seal to fail.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Solution approach for damage caused by media exposure<\/strong><\/p>\n