Floating Stator Shaft Seal Assembly for Misalignment Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shaft seal assemblies struggle to maintain effective sealing and integrity when the shaft experiences angular and radial misalignment, leading to potential contamination and loss of lubrication.
Innovation Solution
The shaft seal assembly employs a labyrinth seal configuration with a floating stator and anti-rotation pins, allowing for articulation and maintaining seal integrity during shaft misalignment. Additionally, a pressure-balanced design with an annular channel helps to balance axial forces, ensuring effective sealing under varying conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional shaft seal assembly is used, then the structure is simple, but the seal integrity deteriorates during shaft misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly incorporates a floating stator that can dynamically adjust its position and orientation in response to shaft misalignment. This dynamic capability allows the seal to maintain contact with the shaft while accommodating angular and radial deviations, thereby preserving seal integrity without requiring a completely complex fixed structure
Solution Approach 2:
The seal assembly is divided into multiple functional components including a stationary stator, floating stator, sealing elements, and anti-rotation pins. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, with the floating stator handling misalignment compensation while other components maintain sealing and structural functions
2Reliability
If the seal assembly is made more complex to handle misalignment, then seal integrity improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The floating stator serves multiple functions simultaneously: it compensates for angular misalignment, accommodates radial deviations, maintains sealing contact, and prevents rotation through integrated anti-rotation features. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall device complexity
3Adaptability or versatility
If a floating stator with anti-rotation pins is used, then adaptability to misalignment improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anti-rotation pins are strategically positioned at specific locations on the floating stator where they provide maximum effectiveness with minimal material and manufacturing complexity. This localized approach allows the floating stator to gain rotational restraint capability without requiring complex features throughout the entire component
Data Source
AI summary
An illustrative embodiment of a shaft seal assembly generally includes a fixed stator, a floating stator, and a sealing member. In the illustrative embodiment the fixed stator may be formed with one or more fluid conduits that are in fluid communication with one or fluid conduits formed in the floating stator. The fluid conduits in the floating stator may be in fluid communication with one or more fluid conduits formed in a sealing member. A rotational interface may exist between the sealing member and a shaft, and the various fluid conduits may be configured to create a fluid barrier at that interface. Other embodiments of a shaft seal assembly may create a fluid barrier at a rotational interface between a rotor and a floating stator.