John Crane Inc.

John Crane-houdaille, Inc.

Jon B Hamaker

Glenn G Pecht

Josef Sedy

Peter L Kay

Donald E Amundson

Improved spiral grooves in a mechanical face seal have plural terminal corners which more evenly distribute the fluid pressure generated within the seal gap into discrete pressure zones which are radially displaced and may also be circumferentially displaced from the other pressure zones generated by the same groove. Alternative embodiments include grooves having surfaces of varying depths wherein each of the plural terminal groove corners is associated with a section of the groove having a surface at a particular depth.

Non-contacting mechanical face seal

A seal face of at least one ring used in a non-contacting, gap-type mechanical end face seal having a pattern including an optional dam and an annular grooved area. The annular grooved area has one of several embodiments, including entrance lands which are essentially triangular and have one side contiguous with one circumferential edge of the annular grooved area. These embodiments further include a set of converging boundary sides of the groove to provide a pressure zone effect. Seal face patterns include a contiguous groove around the circumference of the seal face and a series of annular bands comprising a repeating pattern of an essentially triangular groove interposed between two adjacent, but oppositely oriented, lands. One seal face pattern includes a circular or elliptical groove being open to the circumferential edge, thus providing an entrance land effect, and which includes a circular or elliptical land within it so that the boundaries between the lands and groove converge to provide the pressure zone effect.

Non-contacting, gap-type seal having a ring with a patterned seal face

A seal face of a ring used in a non-contacting, gap-type seal having an annular groove area with microdams, each having a preferable width of about 0.025 inches, between a plurality of groove surface areas. The microdams provide a boundary to the groove surface areas whereby the recess of each groove surface area bounded by the microdams acts as a unitary pressure zone and the pressure in the separate zones decreases in a series of steps as measured from one circumference of the ring to the other circumference.

Non-contacting, gap-type seal having a ring with a patterned microdam

A seal system is disclosed for sealing a housing and rotatable shaft against leakage of high vapor-pressure liquids. The method of sealing contemplates phase change of the liquefied hydrocarbon fluid across a first module. The gas so formed is contained by a second seal module which operates as a dry running gas seal. The seal system has plural, axially spaced spiral-groove seal modules mounted between the shaft and housing. Each seal module has a primary ring affixed to the housing and a mating ring affixed for rotation with the shaft and the modules define an intermediate cavity. The rings have opposed, radially extending faces, one of which has a plurality of downstream pumping spiral grooves extending from one circumference. The grooves of the grooved ring of the upstream module are of a depth not to exceed about 100 micro-inches. In a preferred form, the depth of the grooves of the upstream module do not exceed 50 micro-inches. The groove depth of the grooves of the downstream module is greater than the depth of the grooves of the upstream module and may be as much as 200 micro-inches.

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Schaumburg, IL, United States of America

Jon B Hamaker