How to detect potential aging and damage of O-ring during use?
Publish Time: 2024-07-05
In many industrial applications, the performance of O-ring is crucial. Effectively detecting its potential aging and damage during use is of great significance to ensure the normal operation and safety of equipment.
Appearance inspection is an intuitive preliminary detection method. Observe the surface of O-ring with the naked eye to see if there are obvious signs of aging such as cracks, deformation, discoloration, hardening, etc. At the same time, check whether the seal ring has physical damage such as wear, scratches or notches. Hardness test can reflect the aging degree of the seal ring material. Use a hardness tester to measure the hardness of the seal ring. If the hardness exceeds the normal range, it usually indicates that the material has aged or chemically changed.
Compression permanent deformation test is also a common detection method. The seal ring is compressed under specified conditions and its recovery degree is measured after a certain period of time. If the compression permanent deformation is too large, it means that the elasticity of the seal ring has decreased and there may be aging problems.
Leak detection is a direct way to determine whether the seal ring is damaged. During the operation of the equipment, monitor whether there is leakage in the sealing part. If leakage occurs, it is likely that the seal ring is damaged or aged, resulting in a decrease in sealing performance. In addition, chemical analysis can also be performed. By detecting the changes in the chemical composition of the sealing ring material, it is determined whether aging and degradation have occurred. For example, the antioxidant content in the rubber sealing ring is detected to evaluate its aging degree.
For O-rings used in harsh environments, such as high temperature and highly corrosive media, thermogravimetric analysis, infrared spectroscopy and other methods can be used to gain an in-depth understanding of the structure and performance changes of the material. Non-destructive testing technologies, such as ultrasonic testing and X-ray testing, can detect whether there are defects or damage inside without destroying the sealing ring. Regular sampling inspection is also necessary. A certain number of O-rings are extracted from the equipment in use for the above-mentioned inspection to evaluate the condition of the entire batch of sealing rings and discover potential problems in a timely manner.
In summary, by comprehensively using a variety of methods such as appearance inspection, hardness testing, compression set testing, leakage detection, chemical analysis, non-destructive testing and regular sampling inspection, the potential aging and damage of O-rings during use can be effectively detected, so that corresponding maintenance and replacement measures can be taken to ensure the sealing performance and reliable operation of the equipment.
