Belt Filter Seal Structure for Low-Friction High-Temperature Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing belt filters face challenges in achieving a reliable and low-wear seal between rotatable guide elements and their pivot bearings, particularly in high-temperature applications like metal-cutting machining, where leakage and friction issues are prevalent.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a seal comprising a wire core with a surrounding ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM) hose, which provides a low-friction, temperature-resistant sealing solution up to 200°C, and is designed to fit within sealing grooves on the bearing surfaces of the guide elements and pivot bearings, allowing for easy assembly and protection from solids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional seals are used between guide elements and pivot bearings, then sealing function is provided, but wear and friction increase at high temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The seal combines a wire core (metal or plastic) with an EPDM rubber sealing hose to create a composite structure. The wire provides structural stability and shape retention at high temperatures up to 200°C, while the EPDM rubber provides the sealing function. This composite design prevents the seal from deforming under thermal stress, thereby reducing wear and extending service life in high-temperature applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameters of the seal by selecting EPDM rubber, which has high temperature resistance (stable up to 200°C), and combining it with a wire core that maintains structural integrity at elevated temperatures. This parameter change allows the seal to maintain its sealing properties and geometric shape under thermal stress, reducing friction and wear on bearing surfaces.
2Reliability
If rigid sealing structures are used, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but friction and wear on bearing surfaces increase
Solution Approach 1:
The seal uses a flexible EPDM rubber hose as the sealing element, which can deform to conform to the bearing surface while maintaining effective sealing. The flexibility of the rubber material reduces contact friction compared to rigid sealing structures, while the wire core provides just enough structural support to maintain the seal's shape and positioning without excessive rigidity that would increase wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure of wire core plus rubber hose creates an optimally balanced seal: the rubber provides flexibility for low-friction contact, while the wire provides structural stability. This combination achieves effective sealing without the high friction and wear associated with purely rigid sealing structures.
3Ease of manufacture
If simple seal designs are used, then assembly is simplified, but temperature resistance and durability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The composite design of wire core with EPDM rubber hose achieves a balance between assembly simplicity and temperature resistance. The modular structure allows the seal to be inserted as a complete unit into the sealing groove, simplifying assembly, while the temperature-resistant materials (EPDM stable to 200°C and metal/plastic wire) provide the necessary thermal stability for high-temperature applications.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures a durable, low-wear, and low-friction seal that maintains effectiveness at elevated temperatures, preventing leakage and reducing wear on the bearing surfaces while protecting against solids, thus enhancing the filtration process.
Implementation Method 1
The invention enables a good, low-wear and low-friction sealing between the guide elements and the pivot bearings that is temperature-resistant up to about 200° C., for example, depending on the material.
Implementation Method 2
The wire forming the core of the seal can also be understood as a support and/or as a tensioning element for the sealing hose.
Implementation Method 3
The invention enables a good, low-wear and low-friction sealing between the guide elements and the pivot bearings
Implementation Method 4
The seals protect the mutually facing bearing surfaces of the guide elements and the rotary bearings on the sides of the seals facing away from the filter trough from solids in the liquid to be filtered.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a belt filter (1) with two rotatable rings as guide elements (5) around which a filter belt (6) is guided and which are slidably mounted on fixed rotary bearings (7). For sealing between the guide elements (5) and the rotary bearings (7), the invention proposes seals (18) made of a stainless, semicircular arc-shaped wire as the core, which is surrounded by a sealing sleeve (22) made of EPDM.