Face Seal Installation Pilot for Wheel Assembly Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Face seals in wheel assemblies of work vehicles face issues with misassembly, misalignment, wear, and overheating due to high-speed operations, particularly in rubber-tracked vehicles, which require larger seals and high-capacity bearings, leading to increased heat and load on bearings.
Innovation Solution
A face seal design with an installation pilot, featuring an outer elastomeric ring with a radially offset axial portion that serves as a pilot for press-fitting into a wheel assembly, allowing proper alignment and reducing the risk of damage during installation, and utilizing a configuration where the axial portion's smaller outer diameter facilitates initial insertion into a stepped hub bore, followed by a press-fit of the larger outer sealing ring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If face seals are designed to be larger for high-speed rubber-tracked vehicles, then sealing capacity and bearing load capacity improve, but heat generation and risk of overheating increase
Solution Approach 1:
The face seal is segmented into two distinct rings (first face seal ring and second face seal ring) that can be assembled as a pair. This segmentation allows each ring to be optimized for specific functions, with the elastomeric material providing compliance and heat dissipation while maintaining sealing capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The face seal utilizes composite construction with metal sealing rings and elastomeric material. This composite approach combines the strength and dimensional stability of metal with the compliance, shock absorption, and thermal properties of elastomeric material, enabling the seal to handle high loads while managing heat generation.
2Force
If face seals are made with two-piece metal sealing rings for high load capacity, then bearing load capacity improves, but susceptibility to misassembly, misalignment, and wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elastomeric material acts as an intermediary between the metal sealing rings and the housing bore. This elastomeric component provides a compliant interface that absorbs misalignment and facilitates proper assembly, reducing the risk of damage during installation while maintaining the load-bearing capability of the metal rings.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the material parameter from purely metal to a combination of metal and elastomeric material. This parameter change allows the seal to maintain structural integrity for high loads while introducing compliance that tolerates misalignment and facilitates easier assembly.
3Device complexity
If face seals are installed without an installation pilot, then device complexity is reduced, but risk of misalignment and damage during press-fitting increases
Solution Approach 1:
The axial portion of the outer elastomeric ring serves as a preliminary action feature by providing an installation pilot that guides the seal into proper alignment before the main pressing operation. This preliminary alignment feature prevents misalignment during installation without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A face seal for use within a wheel assembly may include an inner sealing ring and an outer sealing ring. The outer sealing ring may include a first flange, a second flange and an outer cylindrical portion extending between the first and second flanges. The outer cylindrical portion may include a first cylindrical section extending axially from the first flange and a second cylindrical section extending axially between the first cylindrical section and the second flange. The face seal may also include an inner elastomeric ring and an outer elastomeric ring having an axial portion extending radially outwardly from the second cylindrical section of the outer cylindrical portion. Additionally, the axial portion may be radially offset from the first cylindrical section of the outer cylindrical portion such that an outer surface of the first cylindrical section is spaced radially outwardly relative to an outer surface of the axial portion.