Side Channel Compressor Seal Assembly for Wear-Compensating Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Side channel compressors suffer from efficiency reduction due to seal assembly wear and unsatisfactory sealing effects, leading to leakage currents and increased wear over the service life.
Innovation Solution
A sealing device is designed to be pressed radially outward, compensating for volume changes and deformations, and secured against axial migration, using a sealing-device-holding device with spring projections to maintain a small gap and prevent leakage currents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If seal assemblies are used to avoid leakage current, then sealing effect is improved, but wear occurs over service life leading to efficiency reduction
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device utilizes elastic deformation as a key parameter change mechanism. The elastic body deforms under radial pressing force to maintain continuous contact with the impeller surface, compensating for wear and dimensional changes over service life. This dynamic parameter adjustment ensures sustained sealing effectiveness without degradation from wear.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing device transitions from a static seal to a dynamic elastic seal that continuously adapts to operating conditions. The elastic body's ability to deform and recover allows it to maintain optimal sealing pressure despite variations in operating state, temperature, and wear, thereby preventing leakage current and maintaining efficiency throughout the service life.
2Reliability
If seal assemblies are used to prevent leakage, then sealing effect is improved, but wear increases over service life
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic body's deformation characteristics change dynamically during operation. As wear occurs on the sealing surfaces, the elastic body deforms more to maintain contact pressure, effectively compensating for dimensional changes. This parameter adaptation extends the functional service life of the sealing device significantly.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic sealing device performs self-adjustment and self-compensation for wear without external intervention. The elastic deformation automatically compensates for wear-induced gaps, maintaining sealing effectiveness throughout the service life and eliminating the need for manual adjustment or replacement during normal operation.
3Reliability
If the sealing device is pressed radially outward to compensate volume changes, then sealing effect is improved, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device combines multiple functions into a single integrated elastic body element. The elastic body simultaneously provides sealing, compensation for volume changes, adaptation to temperature variations, and wear compensation. This merging of functions achieves superior sealing reliability without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic body acts as a flexible sealing element that can deform to accommodate various operating conditions. This flexible approach replaces rigid, complex adjustment mechanisms with a simple elastic component that automatically adapts to volume changes, temperature fluctuations, and wear through elastic deformation.
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 ensures sustained high efficiency by preventing leakage currents and wear, maintaining a consistent sealing effect across all operating states.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one sealing device is itself elastic or resilient. It is therefore advantageously able to be forced, in particular pressed, radially outward
Implementation Method 2
the at least one sealing device has a radially outwardly facing sealing surface which extends adjacent to the at least one impeller, in particular with respect to the bearing ring base thereof and abuts there in a seal-forming fashion
Data Source
AI summary
A side channel compressor for compressing a gas includes a housing and at least one impeller which is arranged in the housing and configured to be driven in rotation about a central axis. In addition, the side channel compressor includes at least one seal assembly arranged in the housing and including at least one sealing device configured to seal at least one gap between the housing and the at least one impeller and be forced radially outward with respect to the central axis in order to keep the at least one gap small. The at least one seal assembly also includes at least one sealing-device-holding device configured to hold the at least one sealing device in an axially secured fashion with respect to the central axis and which includes at least one main holding body.