The rapidly growing demand for wet‐mate electrical connectors in underwater projects has attracted the attention of researchers in the field. Sealing is the key to underwater connectors. In this paper, the reciprocating O‐ring seal during underwater operations of the pressure‐balanced connectors was studied. A numerical model containing the Reynolds equation, hyperelastic deformation, and asperity contact was used to describe mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) in the O‐ring seal. Results indicate that the friction force of the seal in the connector decreases directly with the increased sealed pressure, and its friction force is smaller than that in the conventionally hydraulic structure. As the sealed pressure increases, the minimum film thickness in the connector increases, which means a better lubrication in the deeper sea. The oil leakage in the connector increases with the sealed pressure, but the increase rate is smaller than that in the hydraulic structure. It proves that the design of pressure‐balanced structure can not only achieve wet‐mate operation at any depth but also facilitate its dynamic sealing performance.

中文翻译：

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用于水下应用的压力平衡充油湿式电气连接器中的往复式O形密封圈分析

水下项目中对湿配合电连接器的快速增长的需求吸引了该领域研究人员的注意力。密封是水下连接器的关键。本文研究了压力平衡连接器在水下运行期间的往复式O形密封圈。包含雷诺方程，超弹性变形和粗糙接触的数值模型用于描述O形密封圈中的混合弹性流体动力润滑（EHL）。结果表明，连接器中的密封件的摩擦力随密封压力的增加而直接减小，并且其摩擦力小于传统液压结构中的摩擦力。随着密封压力的增加，连接器中的最小薄膜厚度也会增加，这意味着在更深的海洋中会获得更好的润滑。连接器中的漏油量随着密封压力的增加而增加，但其增加速度小于液压结构中的增加速度。事实证明，压力平衡结构的设计不仅可以在任何深度实现湿配合操作，而且还可以提高其动态密封性能。