ABSTRACT
Many static sealing applications have specialized design solutions. These range from familiar everyday examples, often unconsidered, such as the cap of a bottle, the joint of a drink can, the door and window seals of automobiles. A particular design problem presented by many electrical feed-thru seals is the need to match the very different thermal expansion coefficients of the electrical conductors and the insulators. A membrane is a sealing layer, extensive in two dimensions, which may be installed as a preformed element, a sheet of cured rubber, or may be manufactured in situ by application of a sealant. The highest tensile stresses are usually located at the edges of a sealant/solid interface, and adhesive strength of the bond is therefore particularly important. This chapter considers specially designed and molded elastomeric gaskets for sealing expansion joints in civil engineering structures such as roads, bridges, pedestrian areas, car parks, airport hard standing, and runways.
