Elastomeric door seal analysis under aircraft cabin pressure

Abstract

AbstractSimple strategies are used to physically represent the cabin pressure acting on elastomeric seals for aircraft door applications. The relationships between rubber response, contact problem and air pressure are assumed as the initial step to understand the risks of air leakage during the early stages of a flight cycle. Through the finite element method, the non-linear boundary problem is investigated with the distinct contact response from two types of door interfaces. The options available within the ABAQUS commercial software are explored to model the seal as nearly incompressible, whereby the limitations are compared for each solution. In a qualitative approach, the simulations use the contact pressure distributions to define the pressure load for air leakage investigations on the door corners.