Reliability analysis for structure strength of metal O-ring based on probability finite element method

Metal O-rings was required as a high reliability sealing element in the safety valve for the application in nuclear power plants. The finite element model for the metal O-rings was constructed with the method of elastoplastic contact analysis based on the ANSYS software. The deformation and equivalence stress distribution of the metal O-rings have been obtained. The Probabilistic Finite Element Analysis for the Structure Strength of Metal O-ring has been done with the ANSYS Probabilistic Design System (PDS). The analysis result indicates that the strength of the O-ring has high reliability. The strength limit of the material is the most important stochastic input parameter. The reliability of the O-ring can be improved by decreasing the dispersion of the property parameters of the material. (authors)