Practical Approach of Material Modeling for Body Seal† Analysis I - Elastomer 2002-01-0721

Elastomer automotive body seal (weather seal) ^† analysis involves different types of stresses. In addition, most body seals in application experience relatively low strain. Therefore, to analyze the body seal behavior, the general guidelines of elastomer material modeling for relatively large strain analysis may not fit. With the increasing demand for analysis accuracy on body seals, special precautions should be taken to ensure the appropriate elastomer model is used and the analysis is valid. The current paper will address the application of elastomer modeling for body seal in finite element analysis (FEA). The numerical predictions of body seal performance from some recommended material models are compared with the real seal testing and found to be in good agreement. Finally, a practical approach of model selection and data fitting strategy for body seal analysis is proposed.