For some time now, the company is facing a problem with sealing. The main problem arises during assembly, when fixing the protective cover to the electric motor housing by means of four bolts. In that step, in the sealing, when it is positioned in the groove, pressure builds to such a level as to bend the cover, creating a gap between the housing and the cover, which allows water ingress into the housing, thus the criterion IP66 according to ISO 20653 is no more met. Addressing this problem, we first reviewed the situation regarding sealing in the market, identified elementary functions of the cover and, by means of the morphological matrix, determined the general sealing solutions. To select the most favourable solution, we defined boundary conditions based on known parameters, while applying several assumptions. To reduce the critical displacement, we pursued two paths: methodological approach and topological optimization. The first path involved empirical elaboration of the selected solution. We evaluated the concepts by means of SWOT analysis, and numerically simulated the loading states for each of them in Ansys Workbench 19.0. This tool was also applied for the purposes of topological analysis. The analysis involved imposing the path to the desired results through several parameters. We faced both mass analysis and stiffness analysis. We found out that, due to the cover shape and location at which the load is applied, the displacement cannot be eliminated. In spite of the said fact, we found areas of key significance for the load bearing capacity.
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