Mechanical Properties of Silicone Elastomer Seals for Space Docking Vehicles

Low impact docking mechanisms (LIDM) are developing. The LIDM seal is one of the key components of the LIDM, and play very critical roles during the docking and berthing of space vehicles. Due to the severe functional requirements, it is difficult to develop the LIDM seal that is a silicone elastomer seal. The excellent mechanical property is firstly required for the LIDM seal. Five design schemes of the LIDM seal are proposed by this paper, and their mechanical properties are studied by the proposed finite element method. The mechanical properties of the LIDM seal have important impacts on the required sealing performance, docking feature and separation feature. The findings are beneficial for the development of the LIDM seal for space docking vehicles. (paper)