Research and Development - Trelleborg
To make sure we can offer the correct products and materials to meet future needs, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions invests heavily in research and development. 8 centers of excellence located in Bridgwater (England), Helsingør (Denmark), Malta , Stuttgart (Germany), Shanghai (China), Kalmar (Sweden), Fort Wayne and Northville (USA), are commited to ongoing programs of material and product development.

Advanced material formulation

Our database of over 2,000 unique formulations includes best-in-class compounds that perform in demanding environments where temperatures are extreme, media aggressive, pressures high and standards stringent.

Proprietary materials include Turel® elastomers, Isolast® perfluoroelastomers, Turcon® PTFE based materials, Zurcon® polyurethanes and our bearing materials Turcite®, Orkot® and HiMod®.

Unique innovative sealing products

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions products are groundbreaking with many becoming industry standards. Our proprietary products include AQ-Seal® , Double Delta® , Glyd Ring® , Stepseal®, Variseal® and Wills Rings®, the original metal O-Ring.

Custom designs are produced to meet customer-specific requirements with the aid of Finite Element Analysis and other leading-edge technology. If needed, these seals will undergo short or long term testing by Trelleborg Sealing Solutions laboratories before volume production.

RD Main

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Browse the Research & Development Capabilities gallery to discover how we develop solutions to tomorrow’s challenges.
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Automotive Test Rig

A special test stand to simulate factors that have an effect on shock absorbers during operational stress. The installed shock absorber is excited with several superimposed frequencies. The behavior of the seals is investigated for the duration of the running time demanded by the customer.

Technical Data

  • Rod-Diameter 0 - 50 mm / 0 - 1.96 inch
  • Rod Velocity 0.002 - 4.0 m/s / 0.0066 - 13.12 ft/s
  • Test Fluid HLP46 , Automotive Fluids
  • Stroke Length 200 mm / 7.87 inch
  • Oil Temperature +25 to +110 °C / +77 to +230 °F
  • Damper Force 25 kN
Measurable
  • Leakage
  • Friction
  • Pressure
  • Oil Temperature
  • Stroke Length
  • Rod Velocity
  • Damper Force

Big Rod Test

The chamber is designed to hold rods up to diameter 380mm. Its purpose is to examine the effects of different operating parameters such as velocity, pressure, temperature, side load and media on the operating performance of the installed seal configuration.

Technical Data

  • Rod-Diameter 150mm – 380mm / 5,9 inch – 14,9 inch
  • Rod-Velocity 0 – 1m/s / 0 – 3,3 feet/s
  • Test Fluid Aerospace Oil, Hydraulic Oil
  • Pressure 0- 35 MPa / 5000 psi
  • Oil Temperature 25°C – 100°C / 77 °F – 212 °F
  • Out of Center up to 0,3 mm / 0,0118 inch

Measurable

  • Leakage
  • Pressure
  • Shaft Velocity
  • Oil Temperature
  • Number of Cycles

Oil Seal Endurance Test

R18_front

Test Stand 4x2 Chambers designed to hold a maximum of 8 radial oil seals. This test stand is intended to examine the operational performance of the ROS under the influence of temperature, rotary frequency, fast acceleration and by changing the rotational direction.

Technical Data

  • Shaft-Diameter 20- 80 mm / 0.787 - 3.149 inch
  • Shaft Velocity 0 /10.000 rpm
  • Test Fluid: Aerospace Oil, Hydraulic oil, air
  • Pressure 0 - 5 MPa / 0 - 72,5 psi
  • Oil Temperature 25°C – 120°C / 77 °F – 248 °F

Measurable

  • Pressure
  • Temperature
  • Torque
  • Leakage

Rod Seal Test Rig

Another test stand for the examination of rod seals. There are, however, no permanently mounted test chambers installed within this equipment. The seals can be tested in almost any kind of cylinder provided by customers. The actuation of the testing cylinders is also carried out by means of a centrally arranged common drive cylinder.

Technical Data

  • Rod-Diameter 17 - 50 mm / 0.669 - 1.968 inch
  • Rod Velocity 0.001 - 0.4 m/s / 0.003 - 1.312 ft/s
  • Test Fluid HLP46
  • Pressure 0 - 20 MPa / 0 - 2900 psi
  • Stroke Length 0 - 250 mm / 0 - 9.842 inch
  • Oil Temperature +25 to +80 °C / +77 to +176 °F
Measurable
  • Leakage
  • Friction
  • Pressure
  • Rod Velocity
  • Oil Temperature
  • Stroke Length

Rotary Seal Test Rig

r3

Test stand for the examination of rotary seals. The same test stands are also installed as standard equipment in other Trelleborg Sealing Solutions research laboratories in Northern Europe and the U.S. to make globally standardized uniform testing conditions possible.

Technical Data

  • Shaft-Diameter 60 - 95 mm / 2.362 - 3.740 inch
  • Shaft Velocity 0 - 0.5 m/s / 0 - 1.640 ft/s
  • Test Fluid HLP46
  • Pressure 0 - 50 MPa / 0 - 7251 psi
  • Swivel Angle 90 - 360 °
  • Oil Temperature +25 to +80 (+120) °C / +77 to +176 (+248) °F
Measurable
  • Leakage
  • Friction
  • Pressure
  • Shaft Velocity
  • Oil Temperature
  • Number of Cycles
  • Frequency

Tensile Test Rig

A general test stand for the determination of either tensile stress values or elongation of test specimens for materials subjected to specific elongation or stress values. This test stand may also be used to determine the frictional forces occurring at the contact surface of seals installed in cylinders (cylinders are not in operation for this test.)

Technical Data

  • Rod Velocity 0 - 0.1 m/s / 0 - 0.328 ft/s
  • Pressure 0 - 50 MPa / 0 - 7251 psi
  • Stroke Length 500 mm / 19.685 inch
  • Damper Force 10 kN

Measurable

  • Friction
  • Stroke Length
  • Rod Velocity

Wiper Test Rig

pruefstand-W1
Test stand to determine the capability of scrapers to block dust / dirt, that has been applied externally under defined conditions, from infiltrating into a hydraulic system. The foreign particles that have intruded into the system are collected in the plexiglass receptacles which may be seen in the center of the illustration. The oil contained in these receptacles is analyzed / examined for these impurities.
Technical Data
  • Rod Diameter 0 - 50 mm / 0 - 1.968 inch
  • Rod Velocity 0 - 0.5 mm/s / 0 - 0.001 ft/s
  • Test Fluid HLP46 & Arizona Dust
  • Pressure 0 - 5 MPa / 0 - 725 psi
  • Stroke Length 200 mm / 7.874 inch
  • Rod Deflection 0 - 0.5 mm / 0 - 0.0197 inch
  • Oil Temperature +25 to +50 °C / +77 to +122 °F
Measurable
  • Size & Amount of Sand Particles
  • Rod Deflection
  • Pressure

Polymer Laboratory

Testing and Development

The following images highlight the processes utilized by Trelleborg's polymer laboratory to ensure quality, performance and efficiency within the Polyurethane (PU) sealing solutions field.

Micro-hardness IRHD according to DIN ISO 48
Thermogravimetric analysis, following VDA 675135
TR point according to DIN 53545
TR10 point according to TBS-00036
Compatibility with various media according to DIN 53508 and ISO 1817
Material development according to customer specification

Product Development

The products in Trelleborg Sealing Solutions standard range are suitable for a variety of applications. As requirements cannot always be satisfied with existing sealing solutions, our Product Development team can create custom solutions, from a simple sealing element to a multi-component part with integrated features.

Trelleborg can create the solution

A wide variety of materials and a broad range of options in production technology are the basis of Trelleborg Sealing Solutions product development. The interaction of modern development methodology with experience of simulation and trial, lead to the development of specialized custom-made products.

No matter whether durable high-pressure seals or delicate ventilation valves, low-friction shock absorber seals or unyielding dirt scrapers are required for the task at hand, the Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Product Development Division offers special solutions providing the best possible product for the customer.

PU Development

With the opening of the Polyurethane (PU) Laboratory in 2001, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions made clear the importance of this material group, for dynamic sealing technology. Since then, we have been able to increase our efficiency and improve our performance in the field of PU development.

At present, we can offer our customers

  • The selective combination of specific materials in order to increase the performance of our standard products
  • Development focused on customer's requirements, such as custom PU formulations
  • All processes and resources necessary to tackle the development of high-performance materials in our Polyurethane Laboratory:
    1. Chemical processing reactor with the option of regulated temperature control - for use in formation of the pre-polymer
    2. Cross-linking station equipped with a high-speed agitator - For blending of the pre-polymer with the cross-linking agent
    3. Temperature controlled casting plate - To aid solidification of the mixture
    4. Granulating machine to comminute the semi-finished PU material
    5. Specially designed tools for series-identical fabrication of prototypes and testing specimens used for laboratory investigation
    6. An injection-molding machine which is identical with the machine used in series production featuring additional software options for Quality Assurance and process adaptability surveys.
    7. Highly qualified staff with years of experience
  • We can produce thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) based on their chemical, physical, tribological and mechanical properties on a semi-industrial scale by creating task-adapted molecular structures.
  • The three basic components, isocyanate, polyol and cross-linking agent, are carefully varied during chemical synthesis. Additives are also incorporated in some cases.

With these three constituents we can take influence on:

  • The damping properties
  • The permanent set
  • Rigidity
  • The Young's modulus
  • Resistance against extrusion
  • The behavior at high and at low temperatures
  • Chemical resistance
  • Abrasion behavior

The formulations and measurement readings of the material tests are precisely recorded. We can, for example, construct stress-elongation-curves derived from the tensile tests by applying our Finite Element Method (FEM) calculation system. We can therefore simulate the sealing behaviour for certain criteria, so that based on predefined piece-geometry, conclusions may be drawn regarding the optimum material.
The future generations of improved TPUs may be typically found in the following application fields:

  1. Seals for rods and pistons used in pneumatics and hydraulics
  2. Scraper elements
  3. Rotary seals
  4. Valves
  5. Machined parts used in engineering, especially with multifunctional feature

PTFE Development

Our Vision
Being the World's best in Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) based materials within our Industry
Our fields of research
  • Basic PTFE physics
  • Processing influence
  • Other processing activities
  • Production methods
  • Standardization of PTFE materials
  • Development of new materials and improvement of existing PTFE based materials
Our facilities
  • Material laboratory
  • Instruments for thermal analysis
  • Test bed

Material Laboratory

laboratory

These are some of the instruments used for testing the latest developments with Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions:

  • Specific Gravity (ASTM D 792, DIN ISO 1183-1)
  • Two instron 5566 tensile testers with extensometer and temperature cabinet Load cells from 200 N to 10 kN. (ASTM D4894, DIN 53455, ASTM D412, DIN 53504-S2)
  • Ball Indentation Hardness (DIN 53456, ISO 2039)
  • Shore D and Micro hardness tester (ASTM 2240 and DIN ISO 48)
  • Deformation Under load ASTM D 621
  • Creep according to ASTM D 621
  • Moisture Analyser, Moisture content of PTFE and fillers
  • Laser diffraction Determination of particle size distribution
  • Microscopes with digital processing facility

Thermal Analysis

These are some of the instruments used for testing the latest developments with Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions:

  • Differential Scanning Calorimeters (DSC), TA instruments DSC 2910 and DSC 2920
  • Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), TA instruments DMA 2980
  • Thermo Gravimetric Analyser (TGA), TA instruments HiRes 2950 TGA