TRELLEBORG, Sweden—Touting its leak-proof performance, longer service life and limited maintenance, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions recently releases its Turcon VL Seal II for hydraulic aircraft components, including landing gear shock absorbers and actuators for flight controls.
"The performance of this seal is well beyond other seals on the market," said Torben Andersen, director of the aerospace management segment. "During the five-year development period, we undertook, among other tests, rapid multi-million cycle testing on an advanced test bench that achieves pressure rise rates of up to 360,000 psi per second, and enables accelerated high frequency cycling up to 5 Hz, under maximum pressure or extreme temperature conditions.
"This enabled us to test potential designs for the improved seal in just weeks rather than months, considerably shortening the proving time."
Trelleborg said its legacy Turcon seal remains the industry standard for this type of use, and this next generation component demonstrates nearly doubled back-pumping performance up to 3,000 psi, and nearly doubled pressures up to 5,000 psi.
The seal is used in conjunction with reciprocating parts—like those found in shock absorbers, landing gear components and actuators.
The seal features an angled seal back enabling seal-width adjustment to pressure, and a front lip helps seal the edge during assembly.
"Sealed for life means the seal lasts as long as the actuator itself," Trelleborg said in its Jan. 27 release. "In addition, negating the need for drain lines and with a profile that allows smaller hardware design, the seal can make a significant contribution to an aircraft manufacturer's goal of weight reduction and fuel efficiency."