Hybrid redundant seal for refrigerant systems

摘要

A connection system for carrying a refrigerant provides a hybrid redundancy in sealing a refrigerant flow from the surround system environment. The connection system (100) for carrying a refrigerant flow (170), comprises a male fitting (110) including a first groove (145) and a second groove (145) positioned around an outer diameter (113) of the male fitting (110); a first flange (115) projecting from the outer diameter (113) of the male fitting (110); a female fitting (120) including an inner diameter (123) in receipt of the male fitting (110); a second flange (125) projecting from the female fitting (120), wherein the second flange (125) includes a third groove (135) positioned at an interface (160) between the first flange (115) and the second flange (125); a first O-ring (140) in the first groove (145) abutting the inner diameter (123) of the female fitting (120); a second O-ring (140) in the second groove (145) abutting the inner diameter (123) of the female fitting (120); and a metallic sealing ring (130) in the third groove (135), abutting the first and second flanges (115;125), and positioned downstream of the first and second O-rings (140) in the refrigerant flow (120). As the metallic sealing ring has a wider range of operating temperature than the O-rings leakage can be prevented.