Accelerated wear test of FKM elastomer for life prediction of seals

The tribological properties of FKM fluorocarbon elastomer were investigated with the aim of developing suitable accelerated wear test conditions for this type of seal material. The wear pattern of the specimen under normal operating conditions was monitored over a test time of 1000 h to be used as a reference. The results were compared with experiments performed under accelerated testing conditions. It was found that by mixing alumina particles of similar to 1 mu m with the lubricant, the wear of a FKM specimen could be accelerated by a factor of 58, while maintaining similar wear behavior as that of the normal test conditions. The results of this work are expected to aid in the prediction of life FKM elastomer seals. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.