Rolling Mill Seal Assembly Stepped Interior Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional oil film bearing seal assemblies in rolling mills have limitations in terms of load capacity and manufacturing complexity due to fixed geometries and component widths, which restrict the ability to increase roll barrel width or adopt alternative bearing geometries.
Innovation Solution
The seal and seal end plate are reconfigured with reduced widths by eliminating the conventional flange and incorporating stepped interior sealing surfaces with an annular dam, allowing for a larger outboard sealing surface diameter, enabling a more flexible and efficient seal assembly design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the conventional seal assembly with fixed geometry and flange is used, then the sealing function is maintained, but the roll barrel width cannot be increased and load capacity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly is segmented into modular components including the seal plate with stepped interior, seal flange with distinct inboard and outboard portions, and associated sealing elements. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, enabling increased roll barrel width while maintaining sealing functionality through reconfigurable modular arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from a conventional single-plane sealing approach to a multi-dimensional stepped configuration with varying diameters and heights. The stepped interior of the seal plate and the multi-level seal flange create additional sealing surfaces at different radial and axial positions, enabling enhanced load capacity and roll barrel width without proportionally increasing overall seal assembly complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If the conventional seal plate with flange is used, then sealing is achieved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal plate is divided into a body portion and a stepped interior structure, while the seal flange is separated into inboard and outboard portions. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing by allowing each segment to be produced independently using standard machining operations, then assembled together, reducing overall manufacturing complexity despite the multi-dimensional sealing configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the seal assembly are designed with locally optimized geometries - the stepped interior provides enhanced sealing surfaces where needed, while other regions maintain simpler forms. The inboard and outboard seal flange portions have different diameters and features tailored to their specific sealing requirements, allowing manufacturing processes to be simplified in non-critical areas while maintaining complex features only where necessary for sealing performance.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A seal assembly for use in an oil film bearing rotatably supporting a roll in a rolling mill. The seal assembly includes a flexible seal 24a mounted on a tapered intermediate section 14 of the roll neck for rotation with the roll and within a fixed circular seal end plate 36a. The seal end plate has a stepped interior defining annular inboard 32a and outboard 34a sealing surfaces, with the outboard sealing surface having a diameter larger than the diameter of the inboard sealing surface. The flexible seal has inboard 26a and outboard 28a flanges projecting radially into contact respectively with the inboard and outboard sealing surfaces of the seal end plate.