Adjustable seal assembly

摘要

An adjustable seal assembly for maintaining a fluid tight seal in a vacuum vessel is provided. The disclosed adjustable seal assembly is particularly suited for sealing a vessel that includes two concentrically disposed sections having a small gap therebetween such that the vessel accommodates relative axial motion between the chamber section and the closure section. The disclosed adjustable seal assembly is comprised of a thin, fiber reinforced polymeric membrane having a first edge attached to a surface of one section of the vessel along the entire perimeter thereof and a second edge attached to a surface of the other section of the vessel thereby sealing the gap between the sections of the vessel. The body of the thin membrane is further disposed such that it generally forms an axially adjustable loop configuration within the small gap allowing the two sections of the vessel to move without breaking the seal. The adjustable seal assembly further includes one or more guide mechanisms of various configurations attached to the sections of the vessel to guide the relative axial motion of the vessel sections.