氢-摩擦耦合作用下橡胶O形密封圈的损伤行为数值研究

doi:10.11949/0438-1157.20251193

摘要/Abstract

摘要：

氢能作为清洁能源，在未来的能源发展中具有关键地位。高压氢系统中，橡胶密封件在高压氢气环境下的动态密封性能退化是涉及气体扩散、溶胀变形与界面磨损等多物理场耦合的复杂物理过程。为阐明其内在机理，本研究建立了综合考虑高压氢气扩散-溶胀变形-摩擦磨损-密封性能退化的多物理场耦合模型，通过开发与ABAQUS结合的UMESHMOTION用户子程序，实现了橡胶O形密封圈氢扩散与机械磨损耦合仿真。系统探究了预压缩率、氢气压力、位移幅值和磨损循环次数等关键参数对接触应力、内部应力集中以及界面材料损失的影响规律。研究结果表明，吸氢膨胀效应在初期会通过增大接触应力来增强密封完整性，但同时也加剧了磨损积累，进而导致了接触应力的退化和应力集中程度加剧。较高的预压缩率和氢气压力虽可提升初始接触应力，但由于摩擦耗散和应力集中效应的增强，反而会削弱其长期服役性能。位移幅值和循环次数的增加则会显著加剧磨损程度，并改变最大磨损深度的分布位置。本研究揭示了高压氢环境中氢扩散与机械磨损耦合作用下橡胶O形密封圈的损伤退化机理，为氢系统用密封件的优化设计提供了重要理论依据。

关键词: 氢, 磨损, 数值模拟, 聚合物, O形密封圈

Abstract:

Hydrogen energy, as a clean energy source, holds a pivotal role in future energy development. In high-pressure hydrogen systems, the degradation of dynamic sealing performance of rubber seals is a complex physical process involving multi-physics coupling such as gas diffusion, swelling deformation, and interfacial wear. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, a multi-physics coupling model is established that integrates high-pressure hydrogen diffusion, swelling deformation, wear, and sealing performance degradation. By developing the UMESHMOTION user subroutine integrated with ABAQUS, a coupled simulation of hydrogen diffusion and mechanical wear in rubber O-ring seals has been achieved. The effects of key parameters such as pre-compression rate, hydrogen pressure, displacement amplitude, and wear cycle number on contact stress, internal stress concentration, and interfacial material loss have been systematically investigated. The results indicate that the hydrogen-induced swelling effect initially enhances sealing integrity by increasing contact stress, but simultaneously accelerates wear accumulation, leading to the degradation of contact stress and intensified stress concentration. Despite improving initial contact stress, higher pre-compression rates and hydrogen pressure ultimately compromise long-term service performance due to enhanced frictional dissipation and stress concentration effects. Increases in displacement amplitude and cycle number significantly aggravate wear severity and alter the distribution of maximum wear depth. This study reveals the damage evolution of rubber O-ring seals under the coupled effects of hydrogen diffusion and mechanical wear in high-pressure hydrogen environments, providing an important theoretical basis for the optimal design of seals used in hydrogen systems.

Key words: hydrogen, attrition, numerical simulation, polymers, O-ring seals

中图分类号:

TH117.1

周池楼, 沈亚文, 刘先晖, 李翔. 氢-摩擦耦合作用下橡胶O形密封圈的损伤行为数值研究[J]. 化工学报, DOI: 10.11949/0438-1157.20251193.

Chilou ZHOU, Yawen SHEN, Xianhui LIU, Xiang LI. Numerical study on damage behavior of rubber O-ring seals under hydrogen-friction coupling effects[J]. CIESC Journal, DOI: 10.11949/0438-1157.20251193.

图/表 12

图1 磨损过程模拟流程图

Fig. 1 Flow chart of wear process simulation

图2 橡胶O形圈密封结构示意图

Fig. 2 Schematic diagram of rubber O-ring seal structure

图3 接触设置及网格划分

Fig. 3 Contact setup and meshing

（a）不同单元数量的O形圈（b）不同单元数量O形圈数据对比

图5 模拟与实验磨损磨痕分布结果对比[12]

Fig. 5 Comparison of simulated and experimental wear abrasion distribution results[12]

表1 模拟与实验中磨损最严重区域和周围磨痕的高度差结果对比［12］

Table 1 Comparison of the results of the height difference between the most worn area and the surrounding abrasion marks in the simulation and the experiment［12］

The height difference between the deepest wear and the surrounding wear marks/μm		Relative error/%
Simulation	Experiment	Relative error/%
1007.7	1014.3	0.65

图6 氢环境与空气环境下O形圈的接触应力分布，磨损深度分布和接触界面节点布局图

Fig. 6 Distribution of contact stress, wear depth under hydrogen and air environments, and the nodal layout of the rubber O-ring contact interface

图7 氢环境与空气环境下O形圈的最大磨损深度随时间演化，磨损前后最大接触应力与最大Mises应力变化和磨损前后的截面形状对比

Fig. 7 Temporal evolution of the maximum wear depth, variations in maximum contact stress and maximum Mises stress before and after wear, and cross-sectional profiles of the rubber O-ring before and after wear under hydrogen and air environments

图8 不同预压缩率下橡胶O形圈的最大接触应力，最大Mises应力，磨损深度分布热图和磨损前后截面轮廓演变

Fig. 8 Maximum contact stress, maximum Mises stress, heat map of wear depth distribution and evolution of cross-section profile before and after wear of rubber O-rings with different pre-compression rates

图9 不同氢气压力下橡胶O形圈的最大接触应力，最大Mises应力，磨损深度分布热图和磨损前后截面轮廓演变

Fig. 9 Maximum contact stress, maximum Mises stress, heat map of wear depth distribution and evolution of cross-section profile before and after wear of rubber O-rings with different hydrogen pressures

图10 不同位移幅值下橡胶O形圈的最大接触应力，最大Mises应力，磨损深度分布热图和磨损前后截面轮廓演变

Fig. 10 Maximum contact stress, maximum Mises stress, heat map of wear depth distribution and evolution of cross-section profile before and after wear of rubber O-rings with different displacement amplitudes

图11 不同磨损循环周期下橡胶O形圈的最大接触应力，最大Mises应力，磨损深度分布热图和磨损前后截面轮廓演变

Fig. 11 Maximum contact stress, maximum Mises stress, heat map of wear depth distribution and evolution of cross-section profile before and after wear of rubber O-rings with different wear cycle numbers

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