Segmented Backup Ring Extrusion Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing backup rings in the resource recovery industry face challenges with extrusion due to pressure differentials across the sealing elements, leading to reliability and cost-effectiveness issues, necessitating improved designs that resist extrusion.
Innovation Solution
A segmented backup ring with individual segments featuring curved surfaces and a projection section that can be received and retained in an adjacent segment's receptacle, allowing for controlled radial expansion and reduced friction, along with a resilient member for easy retraction, creating a gap between the ring and the tubular structure to minimize friction and enhance force distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single-piece backup ring is used to resist extrusion, then extrusion resistance is improved, but compliance with out-of-round tubular structures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The backup ring is divided into multiple individual segments that can independently deform and adapt to out-of-round tubular structures. Each segment contains a compression element that can compress independently, allowing the entire ring to conform to non-circular geometries while maintaining extrusion resistance through the combined segments.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid backup ring structure is used to maintain shape, then structural stability is improved, but friction with tubular structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backup ring transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic segmented structure where individual segments can move and compress independently. This dynamic capability allows the ring to reduce friction by adapting its shape to match the tubular structure, while the interlocking segments maintain overall structural stability.
3Reliability
If high setting force is applied to install the backup ring, then installation reliability is improved, but damage to the tubular structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backup ring is divided into multiple individual segments that can be installed separately or as a disassembled unit. This segmentation reduces the setting force required compared to installing a single-piece ring, as the segments can be compressed and positioned with lower force, thereby reducing the risk of damaging the tubular structure during installation.
4Device complexity
If a compact single-piece ring design is used, then device simplicity is improved, but retrieval difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The backup ring consists of multiple segments that can be easily separated and removed from the tubular structure. This segmented design simplifies retrieval operations compared to removing a single-piece ring, as the segments can be individually accessed and extracted, reducing the complexity of the retrieval process despite the increased structural complexity of the segmented design.
Data Source
AI summary
A segmented backup ring including a plurality of individual segments each having curved surfaces that define an arcuate portion of the ring, each segment including a body section having the arcuate profile and defining a receptacle therein having a circumferential dimension, a projection section having a head portion and a neck portion and extending from the body section in a circumferential direction of the ring, the projection section being receivable and retainable in the receptacle of an adjacent segment body section, and the head portion having a dimension in line with the circumferential direction of the ring that is shorter than the circumferential dimension of the receptacle.