Effects of the Metal Surface Profile to the Sliding Properties between Rubber and Metal and Applying That to Wheel Bearing Seals

Cartridge seals are frequently utilized in wheel bearings where a high level of reliability is required. The cartridge seal combines two components; a seal with flexible rubber lips and a stamped metal slinger that provides a surface for the seal lips to contact without being exposed directly to foreign substances. This paper provides a fundamental evaluation of the sliding properties of rubber seal lips relative to the slinger metal surface profile and evaluates the performance of rotating torque and muddy water endurance from a recommend metal surface profile (developed by advanced fundamental evaluation) of the slinger. Seals with the recommend metal surface profile showed approximately 30% lower torque at the rotating speed from 400 rpm to 800 rpm, which are the speeds representative of automotive city driving. At the same time, the durability performance against muddy water was almost equivalent to the seals without this metal surface.