Articulating Shaft Seal Assembly for Radial And Angular Misalignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shaft seal assemblies face challenges in maintaining sealing integrity during radial and angular misalignment of shafts, leading to potential contamination and lubricant loss, especially in applications where precise alignment is critical.
Innovation Solution
The proposed shaft seal assembly employs a labyrinth seal with a floating stator and anti-rotation pins, allowing for limited relative rotational movement while maintaining sealing through o-ring channels and pressurized sealing fluids, which adapt to misalignment by articulating and maintaining clearance between the shaft and seal components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional shaft seal assembly is used, then sealing is effective under aligned conditions, but sealing integrity deteriorates during radial and angular misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly incorporates a floating stator that can dynamically adjust its position relative to the shaft. The stator is supported by bearings allowing it to float and articulate, accommodating radial and angular misalignment while maintaining sealing contact. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by enabling the seal to maintain reliability despite misalignment conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operational parameters of the seal by introducing pressurized sealing fluid and allowing positional variation of the floating stator. The sealing fluid pressure and the stator's floating position adjust dynamically to maintain effective sealing clearance, enabling the seal to adapt to misalignment while preserving sealing integrity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a floating stator with articulation is used, then adaptability to misalignment is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: a stationary part, a floating stator with bearings, and sealing elements. This segmentation allows the floating stator to independently articulate and adapt to misalignment without requiring complex integrated mechanisms, resolving the contradiction by achieving adaptability through modular simplicity.
3Reliability
If pressurized sealing fluid is used, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The floating stator design allows the seal to partially self-regulate by automatically adjusting its position and maintaining sealing clearance through its floating mechanism. This reduces the energy required for pressurization compared to fully rigid sealed systems, as the floating stator compensates for misalignment without requiring additional pressurization energy.
Data Source
AI summary
An illustrative embodiment of a shaft seal assembly generally includes a first stator, a second stator, and a throttle member. In one illustrative embodiment, the second stator may be formed with a main body and an access plate positioned radially interior with respect to a portion of the first stator. The first stator and second stator may engage one another about a semi-spherical interface comprised of a convex surface on the second stator and a concave surface on the first stator. The second stator may include an internal channel in which a throttle member may be positioned, wherein a radially interior surface of the throttle member may be positioned a shaft.