Sealing systems are widely used in engineering practice, especially in the automotive,
oil and gas, and many areas of the mechanical industry. The function of seals is to
prevent unwanted leakage of flows, liquids and gases. A key factor in the design of
these systems is sealing performance, which is influenced by parameters such as material
selection, geometry, and applied forces and pressures. The combined use of the Finite
Element Method (FEM) and multi-criteria decision-making approaches (Multi-Criteria
Decision Making, MCDM) provides an opportunity to optimize sealing performance. With
the help of the finite element method, we can perform detailed analysis of the effect
of mechanical and thermal loads, enabling the simulation of the seal’s behaviour and
the discovery of optimization opportunities. At the same time, MCDM techniques help
to make design decisions by considering several criteria, such as cost-effectiveness,
performance or lifetime. The combination of the two approaches can thus be an effective
tool for optimizing sealing systems.
