Analysis of compression load deformation of sponge rubber seals considering high and low-temperature effects

Sponge rubber seals are critical components in automotive door sealing systems, where high-temperature environments can cause the seals to harden and lose elasticity, while low temperatures may render them brittle, thus negatively impacting the sealing and soundproofing performance of vehicle doors. This study investigates the temperature-dependent behaviour of sponge rubber seals by conducting tensile tests over a temperature range of -40 °C to 160 °C to obtain the stress-strain curves. A new constitutive model incorporating temperature effects is developed based on these experimental results. The finite element (FE) simulation method is then employed as the material parameter to analyze the impact of high and low temperatures on the compression deformation of the door seals. The findings reveal that under the same compression amount of 0-10 mm, the compression load of the seals significantly increases at low temperatures compared to ambient temperature, while the effect of high temperature on the compression load is relatively small. Furthermore, the deformation of the seals under compression load is validated through a compression load test at ambient temperature.