Enrui Wang, Di Liu, Shaoping Wang
A textured shaft can effectively improve the performance of lip seals. When analyzing the effect of texture, the processing error of the texture is omitted. It should be considered because of its small size. In this study, three widely used textures with processing errors were mathematically modeled and expressed: triangular, rectangular, and elliptical. The Monte Carlo method was then applied to analyze the sealing performance of the lip seal with a textured shaft considering the processing error. Genetic algorithm is a global optimization method that can effectively prevent falling into local optima. It is suitable for complex problems. Additionally, the algorithm can be parallelized conveniently, thereby improving the computational efficiency. By applying a genetic algorithm, Pareto solutions were obtained for the friction force, wear rate, and pumping rate across three candidate textures. The optimal design was identified using Best Solution with Preference relationships among Attributes. In the existing Pareto-front solutions, weights were introduced to comprehensively evaluate each solution and select the optimal one that best fits the preference. The results of this study are based on numerical simulations. The proposed texture optimization method is illustrated through a case study. It indicates that the processing error of the texture should be considered. The results also indicate that the proposed texture-optimizing method can simultaneously improve the seal wear and sealing performance.