Simulating Elastomer Seal Mechanics for a Low Impact Docking System

The application of computational modeling to design can greatly reduce the expense and development time of engineered components. The success of a computational model in representing the correct behavior of components is contingent on the accuracy of the material models used. In this work, the material constitutive behavior of three space-grade silicone elastomers, Esterline ELA-SA-401, and Parker Hannifin S0383-70 and S0899-50, is fit to a hyperelastic material model from experimental data. The hyperelastic properties of these materials are presented along with friction, thermal, and other bulk properties. Sim-plifying approximations are proposed that greatly reduce the computational expense and complexity of the models along with a discussion on when such approximations are valid. Several benchmark problems are compared with experimental data, and more complicated examples demonstrate the application of the model to more complex loading/thermal con-ditions that are difficult to reproduce experimentally. I