Sealing Arrangement With Ring Teeth For Flange Connections

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional wave ring seals suffer from irreversible radial expansion, poor blow-out reliability, and high installation height, leading to damage and inadequate sealing performance under stress and varying pressure and temperature conditions.

Innovation Solution

A sealing arrangement featuring a thin, ring-shaped metallic base body with radially arranged ring teeth and soft material linings, where the ring teeth are designed for partial plastic deformation during installation, allowing for a spring characteristic that reversibly changes dimensions and enhances sealing performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If wave ring seals are pressed down during installation, then sealing contact is achieved, but the base body undergoes irreversible radial expansion and wave deformation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing contactVSAvoidbase body shape

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The ring teeth are designed with elastic deformation capability, allowing them to dynamically adapt to flange surface irregularities during installation while maintaining reversible deformation. The teeth flex under compression to achieve sealing contact, then return to their original shape, avoiding permanent distortion of the base body structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If wave ring seals are pressed down during installation, then sealing contact is achieved, but the soft material linings are damaged due to high press-down pressure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesealing contactVSAvoidlining damage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Length of stationary object

If the metallic base body is made thinner, then installation height is reduced, but manufacturing difficulty increases due to material flow during deformation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinstallation heightVSAvoidring tooth formation

Core Design Contradiction:

Length of stationary objectVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent specifies precise thickness parameters for the metallic base body (0.3-1.0 mm) and ring teeth (0.5-2.0 mm height) to optimize the balance between thin-profile installation and manufacturability. These parameter ranges ensure sufficient material thickness for forming ring teeth without excessive material flow, while achieving reduced installation height compared to conventional wave ring seals.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

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 solution provides a durable, reversible seal with improved resistance to pressure and temperature stresses, maintaining a thin profile for easy installation and minimizing damage to soft material linings, while ensuring a lasting and effective seal.

Implementation Method 1

the ring teeth are designed for partial plastic deformation during installation

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPlastic deformation: Plasticity

Implementation Method 2

allowing for a spring characteristic that reversibly changes dimensions

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElastic recovery: Elastic Recovery

Data Source

PatentUS8672330B2Sealing arrangement

Publication Date: 2014.03.18 XELESS KFT

AI summary

A sealing arrangement, which is particularly suitable for flat flange connections, has an annular, metallic base body (1). Connected to the metallic base body (1) at both sides are soft material supports (2). The base body (1) has ring teeth (3,4) which run around radially at the inside and/or at the outside. The ring teeth (3,4), in the installed state, permit punctiform metallic contact and also have a spring characteristic. The spring characteristic of the ring teeth (3,4) is selected such that, in a first embodiment, after the removal of the seal from the flanges, the tooth height corresponds substantially to the height before the installation. The region of the base body (1) which is covered by the soft material supports (2) also has angular ring teeth (5). The ring teeth (5) have a spring characteristic, wherein after the removal of the seal, the ring teeth (5) spring back to at least 75% of the original state. In a further embodiment, the ring teeth (5) which are covered by the soft material support (2) are partially plastically deformable.