US2799522A - Shaft seal - Google Patents

Shaft seal Download PDF

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Publication number
US2799522A
US2799522A US402674A US40267454A US2799522A US 2799522 A US2799522 A US 2799522A US 402674 A US402674 A US 402674A US 40267454 A US40267454 A US 40267454A US 2799522 A US2799522 A US 2799522A
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United States
Prior art keywords
sleeve
shaft
packing
metal
container
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Expired - Lifetime
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US402674A
Inventor
Earle C King
Verne K Heckel
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MSA Safety Inc
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Mine Safety Appliances Co
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Publication date
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Priority to US402674A priority Critical patent/US2799522A/en
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Publication of US2799522A publication Critical patent/US2799522A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL
    • F16J—PISTONS; CYLINDERS; SEALINGS
    • F16J15/00—Sealings
    • F16J15/16—Sealings between relatively-moving surfaces
    • F16J15/40—Sealings between relatively-moving surfaces by means of fluid
    • F16J15/403—Sealings between relatively-moving surfaces by means of fluid by changing the state of matter
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S277/00—Seal for a joint or juncture
    • Y10S277/93—Seal including heating or cooling feature

Definitions

  • This invention relates to new and useful improvements in seals for shafts and more particularly to a seal for a rotating shaft which extends into a container holding a molten metal under pressure.
  • One of the objects of this invention is to provide a new and improved seal for a shaft extending into a container filled with a molten material.
  • Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved seal for a rotating shaft extending into a container filled with molten material which comprises freezing a substantial amount of the molten material around the shaft toprovide a liquid type seal.
  • Another object of this invention is to provide a seal for a rotatable shaft extending into the container filled with a molten material which comprises a mass of metal wool packed around said shaft and provided with a cooling means operable to freeze the molten material which enters the space filled with said metal wool packing.
  • This invention comprises the new and improved construction and combination of parts and their relation one to another which will be described more fully hereinafter and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.
  • Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a container such as a pump housing and showing in longitudinal section the shaft seal which comprises this invention, and
  • Figure 2 is a detailed sectional view of another embodiment of the shaft seal disclosed in Figure 1.
  • a container 1 which may be a pump or a reaction vessel or any other container for molten materials such as molten metals.
  • the container 1 is shown as having an inlet 2 and an opening 3 in the side wall thereof.
  • the opening 3 has a metal sleeve 4 extending outward therefrom.
  • the container 1 also has an outlet 5 therefrom.
  • a shaft 6 extends into the container 1 concentrically through the sleeve 4 and the opening 3.
  • the shaft 6 may be the shaft for a pump or for a stirrer or a valve or any other apparatus having a reciprocable or rotatable shaft.
  • the sleeve 4 is provided with an annular retaining ring 7 adjacent the inner end portion thereof.
  • the space between the sleeve 4 and the shaft 6 is tightly packed with a metal wool packing 8 which for most liquid metals is preferably a stainless steel wool.
  • the steel wool adjacent the inner end of the sleeve 4 is wrapped with wire 8 to provide aseal against steel wool working into the container.
  • a non-metallic packing 9 which for most installations is an asbestos type packing.
  • the non-metallic packing 9 is packed tightly into them- 2,799,522 Patented July 16,- 1957 ice nular space at the open end of the sleeve 4 and is operable to pack the metal wool packing 8 tightly against the annular retaining ring 7.
  • the non-metallic packing 9 is held in place by a cap member 10 which is secured on the sleeve 4 as by a threaded connection 11.
  • the cap member 10 is provided with a central aperture 12 through which extends the shaft 6.
  • the sleeve 4 is provided with a suitable cooling means surrounding the portion which is filled with the metal wool packing.
  • the sleeve 4 is also provided with an oil filler tube 17 for lubricating the packing.
  • the cooling means is a metal coil 13 which is wrapped tightly around the sleeve 4 and which may if desired, be soldered or otherwise connected to the sleeve 4 for more eflicient heat transfer.
  • the cooling coil 13 has inlet and outlet connections 14 and 15 for circulation of a cooling fluid through the coil.
  • the operation of this apparatus is relatively simple but should be considered carefully in view of certain prior art attempts to solve this problem.
  • the container 1 and inner end portion of the sleeve 4 are filled with a molten material 16 which may be a liquid metal such as sodium, potassium, or a low melting point sodium-potassium alloy, or other metals or alloys having a relatively low melting point.
  • a molten material 16 which may be a liquid metal such as sodium, potassium, or a low melting point sodium-potassium alloy, or other metals or alloys having a relatively low melting point.
  • Some of the molten material 16 will pass through the clearance between the retaining ring 7 and the shaft 6 and will enter the annular space which is filled with the metal wool packing 8.
  • the molten material which enters this space will be frozen immediately into a solid mass by the coolant which passes through the cooling coil 13.
  • the heat transfer capacity of the cooling coil 13 is, of course, designed to freeze the molten material and form a seal for the shaft in a relatively short distance from the retaining ring 7. If at any time this frozen seal is broken and moltenmaterial allowed to flow past it such a break will be immediately sealed by the molten material freezing at a point outward from the break.
  • FIG. 2 there is shown another form of this invention in which the sleeve is provided with heat transfer fins for cooling the packing sufliciently to freeze the metal and provide the desired seal.
  • corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals as in Fig. 1 and the fins are given the reference numeral 18.
  • the operation of this embodiment of the invention is identical with that disclosed in connection with Fig. 1.
  • cooling means comprises a fluid conducting heat exchange conduit extending around said sleeve.
  • cooling means comprises heat dissipating fins on said sleeve.

Description

July 16, 1957 E. c. KING ET AL 2,799,522
SHAFT SEAL Filed Jan. 7, 1954 Earle C. King Ver'ne K. Heckel INVENTORS wgw their AHorney United States Patent SHAFT SEAL Earle C. King, Evans City, and Verne K. Heckel, Prospect, Pa., assignors to Mine Safety Appliances Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 7, 1954, Serial No. 402,674
8 Claims. (Cl. 286-1) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in seals for shafts and more particularly to a seal for a rotating shaft which extends into a container holding a molten metal under pressure.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide a new and improved seal for a shaft extending into a container filled with a molten material.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved seal for a rotating shaft extending into a container filled with molten material which comprises freezing a substantial amount of the molten material around the shaft toprovide a liquid type seal.
Another object of this invention is to provide a seal for a rotatable shaft extending into the container filled with a molten material which comprises a mass of metal wool packed around said shaft and provided with a cooling means operable to freeze the molten material which enters the space filled with said metal wool packing.
Other objects will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.
This invention comprises the new and improved construction and combination of parts and their relation one to another which will be described more fully hereinafter and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.
In the accompanying drawings, to be taken as a part of this specification, there are clearly and fully illustrated two preferred embodiments of this invention, in which drawings:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a container such as a pump housing and showing in longitudinal section the shaft seal which comprises this invention, and
Figure 2 is a detailed sectional view of another embodiment of the shaft seal disclosed in Figure 1.
Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference and more particularly to Fig. 1 there is shown diagrammatically a container 1 which may be a pump or a reaction vessel or any other container for molten materials such as molten metals. The container 1 is shown as having an inlet 2 and an opening 3 in the side wall thereof. The opening 3 has a metal sleeve 4 extending outward therefrom. The container 1 also has an outlet 5 therefrom. A shaft 6 extends into the container 1 concentrically through the sleeve 4 and the opening 3. The shaft 6 may be the shaft for a pump or for a stirrer or a valve or any other apparatus having a reciprocable or rotatable shaft. The sleeve 4 is provided with an annular retaining ring 7 adjacent the inner end portion thereof. The space between the sleeve 4 and the shaft 6 is tightly packed with a metal wool packing 8 which for most liquid metals is preferably a stainless steel wool. The steel wool adjacent the inner end of the sleeve 4 is wrapped with wire 8 to provide aseal against steel wool working into the container. At the outer open end of the sleeve 4 there is provided a non-metallic packing 9, which for most installations is an asbestos type packing. The non-metallic packing 9 is packed tightly into them- 2,799,522 Patented July 16,- 1957 ice nular space at the open end of the sleeve 4 and is operable to pack the metal wool packing 8 tightly against the annular retaining ring 7. The non-metallic packing 9 is held in place by a cap member 10 which is secured on the sleeve 4 as by a threaded connection 11. The cap member 10 is provided with a central aperture 12 through which extends the shaft 6. The sleeve 4 is provided with a suitable cooling means surrounding the portion which is filled with the metal wool packing. The sleeve 4 is also provided with an oil filler tube 17 for lubricating the packing. In this embodiment of the invention the cooling means is a metal coil 13 which is wrapped tightly around the sleeve 4 and which may if desired, be soldered or otherwise connected to the sleeve 4 for more eflicient heat transfer. The cooling coil 13 has inlet and outlet connections 14 and 15 for circulation of a cooling fluid through the coil.
The operation of this apparatus is relatively simple but should be considered carefully in view of certain prior art attempts to solve this problem. The container 1 and inner end portion of the sleeve 4 are filled with a molten material 16 which may be a liquid metal such as sodium, potassium, or a low melting point sodium-potassium alloy, or other metals or alloys having a relatively low melting point. Some of the molten material 16 will pass through the clearance between the retaining ring 7 and the shaft 6 and will enter the annular space which is filled with the metal wool packing 8. The molten material which enters this space will be frozen immediately into a solid mass by the coolant which passes through the cooling coil 13. The heat transfer capacity of the cooling coil 13 is, of course, designed to freeze the molten material and form a seal for the shaft in a relatively short distance from the retaining ring 7. If at any time this frozen seal is broken and moltenmaterial allowed to flow past it such a break will be immediately sealed by the molten material freezing at a point outward from the break.
it should be noted that there have been other proposals to provide frozen seals from molten materials which are similar to the one which we propose here but which do not make use of the metal wool packing which we propose. We have found experimentally that seals which do not use the metal wool packing cause an excessi e binding on the shaft and make it very difiicult, if not impossible, to start rotation of the shaft after it has been stopped for any substantial period of time. We have found however that the incorporation of a metal wool packing into this type of seal provides a seal which is more efficient than one which does not contain this packing and also will permit the shaft to be rotated easily even after it has been stopped for an extended period of time. As an example we have found that with a pump using liquid sodium and a frozen seal of this general type but without the metal wool packing, when the pump was stopped for a short time the shaft could not be turned using the powerful leverage of an extension wrench. In a similar pump which used our seal including the metal wool packing we found that even after stopping the pump for an extended period of time it was possible to turn the shaft by hand.
in Figure 2 there is shown another form of this invention in which the sleeve is provided with heat transfer fins for cooling the packing sufliciently to freeze the metal and provide the desired seal. In this figure corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals as in Fig. 1 and the fins are given the reference numeral 18. The operation of this embodiment of the invention is identical with that disclosed in connection with Fig. 1.
Although we have described and disclosed only two embodiments of this invention it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other embodiments of this invention can be made without departing from the scope and intent of this invention which should be limited only by the appended claims.
Having thus described our invention, what we desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:
l. The combination with a container substantially filled with a molten material, of a sleeve extending outward from the container, a movable shaft extending from within said container outward through said sleeve, a metal Wool packing surrounding said shaft within said sleeve, and cooling means surrounding said sleeve and operable to freeze any of said molten material entering the space filled with said metal wool packing.
2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said shaft is rotatable.
3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said shaft is reciprocable.
4. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said cooling means comprises a fluid conducting heat exchange conduit extending around said sleeve.
5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which said cooling means comprises heat dissipating fins on said sleeve.
6. The combination with a container having an opening and filled with molten metal under pressure, of a metal sleeve extending outward from said opening, a movable shaft extending concentrically through said opening and said sleeve, an annular retaining member in the end of said sleeve adjacent said opening, a metal wool packing surrounding said shaft within said sleeve, a nonmetallic packing surrounding said shaft adjacent the outer end of said sleeve, a cap member closing the outer end of said sleeve and urging said nonmetallic packing compressively against said metal wool packing to compress the same against said annular member, said cap member having an aperture through which said shaft extends, and a metal heat transfer conduit coiled around said sleeve in contact therewith and operable to conduct a cooling fluid for cooling said sleeve sufiiciently to freeze any molten metal which enters the space filled with said metal wool packing.
7. The combination with a container having an opening and filled with molten metal under pressure, of a metal sleeve extending outward from said opening, a movable shaft extending concentrically through said opening and said sleeve, an annular retaining member in the end of said sleeve adjacent said opening, a metal wool packing surrounding said shaft within said sleeve, a nonmetallic packing surrounding said shaft adjacent the outer end of said sleeve, a cap member closing the outer end of said sleeve and urging said nonmetallic packing compressively against said metal wool packing to compress the same against said annular member, said cap member having an aperture through which said shaft extends, and heat transfer fins on said sleeve and operabie to conduct heat away from said sleeve at a rate sufiicient to freeze any molten metal which enters the space filled with said metal Wool packing.
8. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which there is provided a non-metallic packing positioned in the outer end portion of said sleeve to hold said metal wool packing packed tightly in position, and a cap member closing the outer end portion of said sleeve to hold said nonmetallic packing in position and provided with an aperture through which said shaft extends.
References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS
US402674A 1954-01-07 1954-01-07 Shaft seal Expired - Lifetime US2799522A (en)

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Cited By (25)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2992017A (en) * 1956-09-05 1961-07-11 Theodore D Dritz Pipe coupling having remotely controlled heating and cooling means
US3017202A (en) * 1958-03-14 1962-01-16 Swaney Robert Casper Cooled rotary joint having a plurality of concentrically arranged conduits
US3129947A (en) * 1960-12-23 1964-04-21 North American Aviation Inc Liquid metal freeze-type seal
US3148887A (en) * 1961-07-24 1964-09-15 List Heinz Gas-tight sealing connection for hydrofluoric acid reaction furnace between screw conveyor charging device and rotating neck of the furnace
DE1215455B (en) * 1960-05-23 1966-04-28 Rolf Lehmann Process for non-contact sealing of shafts or rods
DE1222333B (en) * 1963-06-10 1966-08-04 Kernenergieverwert Ges Fuer Solidification box
DE1229801B (en) * 1963-03-01 1966-12-01 Euratom Solidification box
US3299905A (en) * 1967-01-24 Smirra solder valve
US3331608A (en) * 1963-03-13 1967-07-18 Euratom Tightness joint for shaft with liquid sealing medium solidifying at ambient temperature
US3469862A (en) * 1965-03-09 1969-09-30 English Electric Co Ltd Expansion joints with frozen seals
US3472701A (en) * 1969-06-27 1969-10-14 Standard Oil Co Battery seal
US3630582A (en) * 1969-03-10 1971-12-28 Lorraine Carbone Sealing joints
US3738781A (en) * 1969-12-23 1973-06-12 Siemen & Hinsch Gmbh Pump unit for conveying high temperature media
US3761055A (en) * 1971-11-08 1973-09-25 Okano Valve Seizo Kk Freeze seal for sodium valves
US3819191A (en) * 1972-06-26 1974-06-25 Innovatex Corp Sealing ring assembly for rotary face seal
US3823949A (en) * 1970-01-29 1974-07-16 Akzona Inc Shaft seal
US3877481A (en) * 1972-07-26 1975-04-15 Ca Atomic Energy Ltd Valve assembly
US3976405A (en) * 1974-10-29 1976-08-24 Cominco Ltd. Pump
US4010960A (en) * 1974-10-21 1977-03-08 Groupement pour les Activities Atomiques et Advancees "GAAA" Rotating seal
DE2643781A1 (en) * 1975-10-02 1977-07-14 Kureha Chemical Ind Co Ltd ROTARY PUMP FOR PUMPING HOT PECH, HOT ASPHALT AND OTHER VISCOSE, CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS
US4045056A (en) * 1975-10-14 1977-08-30 Gennady Petrovich Kandakov Expansion compensator for pipelines
US4154446A (en) * 1978-01-30 1979-05-15 E-Systems, Inc. High temperature rotary joint
US4614368A (en) * 1985-02-19 1986-09-30 General Dynamics Corp./Convair Division Liquid metal pipe joint
US5553602A (en) * 1995-11-03 1996-09-10 Universal Enterprises, Inc. Heat-dissipating extender
US5611659A (en) * 1992-12-03 1997-03-18 Europaische Atomgemeinschaft (Euratom) Method and a device for reducing the gap between a static part and a movable part

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1882757A (en) * 1928-06-09 1932-10-18 Western Electric Co Method of sealing joints
US2076200A (en) * 1933-12-01 1937-04-06 Pirelli General Cable Works Apparatus for extruding metal

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1882757A (en) * 1928-06-09 1932-10-18 Western Electric Co Method of sealing joints
US2076200A (en) * 1933-12-01 1937-04-06 Pirelli General Cable Works Apparatus for extruding metal

Cited By (26)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3299905A (en) * 1967-01-24 Smirra solder valve
US2992017A (en) * 1956-09-05 1961-07-11 Theodore D Dritz Pipe coupling having remotely controlled heating and cooling means
US3017202A (en) * 1958-03-14 1962-01-16 Swaney Robert Casper Cooled rotary joint having a plurality of concentrically arranged conduits
DE1215455B (en) * 1960-05-23 1966-04-28 Rolf Lehmann Process for non-contact sealing of shafts or rods
US3129947A (en) * 1960-12-23 1964-04-21 North American Aviation Inc Liquid metal freeze-type seal
US3148887A (en) * 1961-07-24 1964-09-15 List Heinz Gas-tight sealing connection for hydrofluoric acid reaction furnace between screw conveyor charging device and rotating neck of the furnace
DE1229801B (en) * 1963-03-01 1966-12-01 Euratom Solidification box
US3331608A (en) * 1963-03-13 1967-07-18 Euratom Tightness joint for shaft with liquid sealing medium solidifying at ambient temperature
DE1222333B (en) * 1963-06-10 1966-08-04 Kernenergieverwert Ges Fuer Solidification box
US3469862A (en) * 1965-03-09 1969-09-30 English Electric Co Ltd Expansion joints with frozen seals
US3630582A (en) * 1969-03-10 1971-12-28 Lorraine Carbone Sealing joints
US3472701A (en) * 1969-06-27 1969-10-14 Standard Oil Co Battery seal
US3738781A (en) * 1969-12-23 1973-06-12 Siemen & Hinsch Gmbh Pump unit for conveying high temperature media
US3823949A (en) * 1970-01-29 1974-07-16 Akzona Inc Shaft seal
US3761055A (en) * 1971-11-08 1973-09-25 Okano Valve Seizo Kk Freeze seal for sodium valves
US3819191A (en) * 1972-06-26 1974-06-25 Innovatex Corp Sealing ring assembly for rotary face seal
US3877481A (en) * 1972-07-26 1975-04-15 Ca Atomic Energy Ltd Valve assembly
US4010960A (en) * 1974-10-21 1977-03-08 Groupement pour les Activities Atomiques et Advancees "GAAA" Rotating seal
US3976405A (en) * 1974-10-29 1976-08-24 Cominco Ltd. Pump
DE2643781A1 (en) * 1975-10-02 1977-07-14 Kureha Chemical Ind Co Ltd ROTARY PUMP FOR PUMPING HOT PECH, HOT ASPHALT AND OTHER VISCOSE, CONSOLIDATED MATERIALS
US4045056A (en) * 1975-10-14 1977-08-30 Gennady Petrovich Kandakov Expansion compensator for pipelines
US4154446A (en) * 1978-01-30 1979-05-15 E-Systems, Inc. High temperature rotary joint
US4614368A (en) * 1985-02-19 1986-09-30 General Dynamics Corp./Convair Division Liquid metal pipe joint
US5611659A (en) * 1992-12-03 1997-03-18 Europaische Atomgemeinschaft (Euratom) Method and a device for reducing the gap between a static part and a movable part
US5553602A (en) * 1995-11-03 1996-09-10 Universal Enterprises, Inc. Heat-dissipating extender
WO1997016681A1 (en) * 1995-11-03 1997-05-09 Universal Enterprises, Inc. Heat-dissipating extender

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