The compressive behavior of an annular rubber seal constrained in a pipe and the interaction between the pipe and the seal was studied experimentally using a specially designed test fixture that allowed the concentric alignment of the seal within the pipe and its axial compression using an electro-hydraulic Instron load frame. The hoop strain introduced in the pipe wall, due to the constraint of lateral expansion of the seal, displayed a parabolic distribution with a maximum value at the mid-height of the seal similar to the parabolic shape of the lateral expansion of the seal. The magnitude of the pipe strain increased with the friction coefficient of the interface between the seal and the compression rings, strain rate, and shape factor for a constant gap between the seal and the pipe wall. The relationship between the apparent compressive modulus and the shape factor (beyond experimental range) was studied using FEA. / October 2016