ROTARY FACE SEAL WITH ANTI-CROWNING FEATURES

摘要

A typical rotary face seal employs a seal ring (2) rotating relative to a sealing surface (3) and also employs means to urge the seal ring towards the sealing surface in order to effect a seal. The seal ring may itself comprise a seal face (5) bonded to a backing ring (4). In certain applications, the seal face may deform significantly as a result of the temperature variations experienced and an undesirable crowning of the seal face may occur. Such crowning may be reduced by employing an improved seal ring with anti-crowning features in which the thickness of an edge (5a, 5b) of the seal face is different from that in the middle (5d) of the seal face, or in which a relief slot (16) is employed in the seal face. The improved seal ring is particularly suited for rotary face seals used in a rotary valve in a rotary gas separation device.