INTELLIGENTE MEMBRAN MONITORING
Seals primarily consist of materials that cannot process signals in their pure form. That’s why Freudenberg Sealing Technologies’ material developers are investigating materials that seals can employ to become sensors or even actuators, for example, without impairing their original mission. For instance, special material mixtures come under consideration for this. With a suitable design, it is possible for a seal to indicate its level of wear and for the information to be tied to system data. This makes it possible to predict when a particular seal must be replaced – an important capability for predictive maintenance, one of the core components of Industry 4.0. In this way, operating costs can be optimized: Seals can perform their task over their entire operating life, without being replaced too early. That means maintenance intervals can be scheduled pro-actively on a definite basis. On the other hand, the damage and follow-up costs resulting from leakage – which occurs when a seal is replaced too late – can be avoided. There are diverse areas of application for smart seals. For now, the study, which is being presented by Freudenberg sealing experts at drinktec 2017, is limited to applications in aqueous media. Investigations are underway on how the study’s results can be carried over to other media.