Trelleborg launches “next-generation” fire seal

Trelleborg, Sweden – Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has launched a specialised ultra-high-temperature fire seal to help enhance aircraft engine efficiency. 

The Ultra High Temp Seal, which is claimed to feature “revolutionary makeup and design” can operate at a temperature range from -40 °C/ -40°F to up +315 °C/ +600 °F “while meeting all customers’ fire seal requirements,” said Trelleborg in a 29 April statement.

This allows aircraft manufacturers develop engines that can operate at higher temperatures with lower fuel consumption.

“The hotter an engine runs, the more thrust is obtained from the same amount of fuel, making the engine more efficient with lower fuel consumption,” explained Quinn Collett, head of Trelleborg’s Airframe seals business.

The patent-pending design of the seals, Collett added, overcomes the inherent silicone characteristic of relaxation and compression set at high temperatures, which is a major cause of failure in a fire seal’s performance. 

The design, according to Trelleborg, employs a “proprietary methodology” to integrate all components, eliminating the need for thermal protection of sealing elements.

This provides a further weight saving and part count reduction while making the assembly easier, the company added.

The seal is engineered to have a life time of 60,000 flight cycles (take off, flight and landing), dependent on application and can be a “drop-in” replacement for seals that do not currently meet all fire seal requirements.

Trelleborg said it performed a full test programme on the product under different compression loads. In heat soak tests, it said, the seal outperformed better other fire seals and was below a 15% permanent set target in all cases. 

The seal meets the requirements of US Federal Aviation standard AC20-135 powerplant installation and propulsion system component fire protection test methods and standards and criteria, as well as ISO 2685:1998 Aircraft – environmental test procedure for airborne equipment – resistance to fire in designated fire zones.