Pressure-Locking Sealing Ring Assembly for Wear-Resistant Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Seals in piston-cylinder assemblies experience radial wear, leading to unacceptable leakage due to high wear rates of self-lubricating materials, which limits their operational life and effectiveness in maintaining pressure differences across the seal.
Innovation Solution
A sealing ring assembly with a pressure-locking feature, including recesses on the mating surfaces that are open to a low-pressure region but not the high-pressure region, utilizing forces to maintain contact and reduce wear by balancing radial pressures, thereby preventing leakage and extending the seal's operational life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a self-lubricating material is used for the seal, then lubrication is provided without external lubricant, but the wear rate is relatively high leading to unacceptable leakage flow
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is divided into multiple segments with mating surfaces that can move relative to each other. The segments are held together by pressure-locking features that utilize pressure differential forces. This segmentation allows the seal to accommodate wear while maintaining contact between mating surfaces, preventing leakage even as the seal wears over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure-locking mechanism changes the pressure parameter distribution across the seal segments. By creating a pressure differential between the high-pressure and low-pressure sides, the system generates forces that actively maintain contact between mating surfaces. This dynamic pressure-based control compensates for wear without requiring external lubrication.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the seal operates for extended periods, then operational life is extended, but radial wear accumulates causing gaps to form between seal portions
Solution Approach 1:
The seal segments are designed to be dynamic rather than static, allowing them to move relative to each other in response to pressure differential forces. The pressure-locking features enable the segments to self-adjust and maintain contact despite radial wear accumulation. This dynamic capability allows the seal to maintain integrity throughout its extended operational life.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressure-locking mechanism is self-regulating, using the existing pressure differential across the seal to automatically maintain contact between mating surfaces. The system serves itself by utilizing its operating conditions (pressure difference) to counteract wear and prevent gap formation, without requiring external intervention or adjustment.
3Reliability
If pressure differential is maintained across the seal, then sealing function is achieved, but contact force between sealing surfaces varies with pressure changes
Solution Approach 1:
The pressure-locking features create a feedback mechanism where the pressure differential force automatically adjusts to maintain optimal contact between mating surfaces. When pressure changes occur, the force generated by the pressure differential responds in real-time, ensuring consistent sealing performance. The pressure gradient acts as a feedback signal that self-regulates the contact force.
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
The pressure-locking feature ensures effective sealing by maintaining contact between the sealing elements, reducing wear rates, and minimizing leakage, thus enhancing the operational life and efficiency of the seal in maintaining pressure differences across the seal.
Implementation Method 1
a first force acting on the first sealing element and a second force acting on the second sealing element... the first force acting on the first sealing element is directed opposite to the second force acting on the second sealing element
Data Source
AI summary
A sealing ring includes a first sealing element having a first mating surface and a second sealing element having a second mating surface. A high-pressure boundary extends across at least a portion of the first sealing element and across at least a portion of the second sealing element, anda low-pressure boundary extends across at least a portion of the first sealing element and across at least a portion of the second sealing element. The first mating surface, the second mating surface, or both, includes a recess open to the low-pressure boundary and not open to the high-pressure boundary. The recess may include a groove, for example. The first mating surface is sealed against the second mating surface by a first force acting on the first sealing element and a second force acting on the second sealing element. These forces act to pressure-lock the assembly.