Trelleborg Develops Rotary Shaft Seal for Motorsport Industry

Trelleborg is a name that is more commonly associated with tires for commercial and agricultural vehicles. However, the company recently made its presence felt in the world of auto components when it launched the Turcon Varilip PDR rotary shaft seal. Trelleborg claims the innovative rotary shaft seal provides superior execution and outclasses similar products in the market.

The seal overcomes the deficiencies of elastomer radial shaft seals and uses advanced materials and design techniques to provide the best sealing performance for motorsport applications. It offers users low friction, stick-slip-free running, minimizes temperature generation and allows higher peripheral speeds.

Commenting on the new seal, Andrew Longdon, UK Technical Manager at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, said that the company has become the one of the leading producers of lightweight, friction-reducing rotary shaft seals which have been successfully used in Formula One and IndyCar races. Rotary seal torque and power consumption depends to a significant extent on the seal designs and material, and this makes it important to come up with seal configurations that can help racers to achieve the best possible performance.

He added that Turcon Varilip PDR rotary shaft has a design which provides a superior sealing solution. It retains a compact seal envelope. The seal is made of only two parts – a precision manufactured metal body and a mechanically retained Turcon sealing element. Seals having pressed metal cases require sealing between the lip and casing. In the case of the rotary shaft seal, this is provided by the mechanical retention of the lip, thus improving both the chemical resistance and temperature range of the sealing system.

The option of an integrated end plate for Turcon Varilip PDR rotary shaft seal can also allow end users to optimize their hardware design to minimize envelope and part count.

Another design innovation is that the Turcon Varilip PDR rotary shaft seal is available with a hydrodynamic feature on the Turcon sealing lip which creates a positive displacement of fluid when the shaft rotates. This provides improved sealing in applications where the shaft only rotates in a single direction. The feature also gives the lip greater flexibility, allowing a wider contact area between the Turcon lip and the shaft, helping to reduce shaft load and associated wear and temperature generation.

As in the case of all Turcon Varilip PDR seals, the rotary shaft seal is capable of outstanding high and low temperature performance when compared to elastomeric materials as the temperature tolerance is not limited by the presence of an elastomer gasket. The seal has outstanding resistance to oil additives and biofuels, which can affect the capability of elastomer radial shaft seals.