Support Ring Seal Structure for Cryogenic Thermal Shrinkage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Seals in extreme operating conditions face leakage issues due to thermal shrinkage and deformation, leading to reduced contact pressure and increased wear, which existing technologies fail to adequately address.
Innovation Solution
An annular seal design incorporating a support ring within a spring, which biases the spring's outer diameter to maintain contact pressure and control thermal shrinkage, reducing leakage and wear by distributing contact pressure effectively across the seal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional seal design is used without a support ring, then the structure is simpler, but thermal shrinkage causes reduced contact pressure and leakage at extreme temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The seal assembly is divided into functional components: a seal element, a spring for applying force, and a support ring for controlling thermal shrinkage. This segmentation allows each component to address specific problems independently, improving overall reliability without requiring complete redesign of the entire seal system.
Solution Approach 2:
The support ring acts as an intermediary component between the spring and the seal element. It mediates the thermal shrinkage effects, controlling how temperature changes translate to dimensional changes in the spring, thereby maintaining consistent contact pressure on the seal element across extreme temperature ranges.
2Reliability
If higher spring force is used to maintain contact pressure, then sealing reliability improves, but wear increases and energy consumption rises
Solution Approach 1:
The support ring changes the thermal parameters of the spring system by providing a reference geometry that maintains consistent dimensional relationships across temperature ranges. This allows the spring to operate at lower forces while maintaining adequate contact pressure, reducing wear and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The support ring preemptively counteracts the thermal shrinkage effects before they can cause loss of contact pressure. By controlling the spring's outer diameter changes in advance, it prevents the harmful effects of thermal contraction, eliminating the need for excessive spring force to compensate for temperature variations.
3Reliability
If a support ring is added to control thermal shrinkage, then sealing performance at extreme temperatures improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support ring provides localized geometric control specifically where the spring makes contact, rather than requiring complex modifications throughout the entire seal assembly. This localized approach maintains simple manufacturing for the overall system while achieving the needed thermal compensation function.
Solution Approach 2:
The support ring serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides a geometric reference for the spring, controls thermal shrinkage, maintains contact pressure distribution, and supports the seal element. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components, simplifying the overall manufacturing process.
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 support ring design maintains consistent contact pressure across the seal, reducing leakage and wear, and lowers the spring force required, improving sealing performance in extreme temperature conditions.
Implementation Method 1
seals may be subjected to extreme operating conditions, such as cryogenic temperatures and/or high temperatures, which may cause portions of the seal or the components of the assembly to shrink, expand, or deform
Implementation Method 2
the spring's outer diameter to maintain contact pressure and control thermal shrinkage
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods include providing a seal for an assembly. The seal includes a jacket having a base, an inner sealing leg, and an outer sealing leg, and further includes a spring disposed within the jacket between and in contact with the inner sealing leg and the outer sealing leg. The spring includes an annular support ring disposed within the spring. The support ring biases an outer diameter (OD) of the spring towards the outer sealing leg of the jacket to maintain contact pressure between the inner sealing leg of the jacket and the shaft of the assembly. The support ring controls thermal shrinkage of the spring and the outer sealing leg to maintain a seal between a housing and a shaft of the assembly when the assembly is operated at cryogenic temperatures.