Interlocking Labyrinth Seal for Axial Rotor Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional roller bearing seals, particularly contact seals, experience friction and wear due to direct contact between moving parts, leading to reduced fuel efficiency, heat generation, and maintenance issues, while noncontact labyrinth seals lack a locking mechanism to prevent axial motion and maintain a tortuous path, allowing contaminants and lubricant to escape.
Innovation Solution
A labyrinth seal design featuring an interlocking rotor and insert, along with a slinger, that encircles the rotation axis to form a tortuous path without direct physical contact, limiting axial motion and preventing the labyrinth from 'opening up', thus maintaining containment of contaminants and lubricant within the bearing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a contact seal is used to form a physical barrier, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but friction and wear increase leading to reduced fuel efficiency and maintenance issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the contact seal mechanical system with a noncontact labyrinth seal system. The labyrinth seal uses a tortuous path geometry to impede contaminant ingress and lubricant egress without requiring direct physical contact between sealing surfaces, thereby eliminating the friction and wear associated with contact seals while maintaining sealing effectiveness.
2Loss of energy
If a noncontact labyrinth seal is used to eliminate friction, then fuel efficiency is improved, but axial motion control is lost allowing the labyrinth to open up
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary axial locking mechanism that mediates between the noncontact labyrinth seal components. The locking feature, such as an axial locking groove and locking bead, acts as an intermediary structure that prevents axial displacement of the rotor relative to the seal housing, thereby maintaining the integrity of the labyrinth path while preserving the noncontact sealing advantage.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a locking mechanism is added to the noncontact labyrinth seal to prevent axial motion, then labyrinth path integrity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the locking mechanism with the existing labyrinth seal structure. The axial locking groove is integrated into the rotor or seal housing, and the locking bead is formed as part of the labyrinth seal assembly, combining the sealing and axial retention functions into a unified structure rather than adding separate independent components.
Data Source
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AI summary
A labyrinth seal includes a seal case with an inner-diameter leg encircling a rotation axis, and an insert fixed in the seal case and encircling the rotation axis. The labyrinth seal also includes a slinger encircling the rotation axis and wrapping around the inner-diameter leg to cooperate with the seal case to form a first part of a labyrinth path. The slinger rotates relative to the seal case. The labyrinth seal also includes a rotor that encircles the rotation axis, cooperates with the insert to form a second part of the labyrinth path, and interlocks with the insert to limit axial movement of the rotor when the rotor rotates relative to the insert. The labyrinth seal may be combined with a bearing cone, a bearing cup, and a plurality of rollers to form a roller bearing assembly.