Patent ID: 7798496
Filing Date: 2010-09-21
Classification: F16J

Abstract:
1. A rotary shaft sealing assembly for partitioning a first fluid from a second fluid, the rotary shaft sealing assembly comprising: a housing assembly having a first supporting wall and a second supporting wall, said second supporting wall having a recess; a rotary shaft located at least partially within said housing assembly and having at least one relative rotation direction; a weir formed in said housing assembly and circumscribing a passageway through which said rotary shaft extends; a dust cover mounted on said rotary shaft, said dust cover including a cover portion extending over at least a portion of said weir; a cantilever lip seal in sealing engagement with said housing assembly and said rotary shaft, said cantilever lip seal having a first energizer element and a cantilevered lip facing the first fluid; a pressure-generating seal ring in sealing engagement with said housing assembly and said rotary shaft and having a first hydrodynamic lip defining a first dynamic surface, said pressure-generating seal ring having at least one hydrodynamic inlet and at least one angled diverting feature providing flushing and lubricating of said cantilevered lip of said cantilever lip seal in response to relative rotation of said rotary shaft, wherein said pressure-generating seal ring and said cantilever lip seal define at least a portion of a sealed region having a pressure; a wavy-edged hydrodynamic seal located intermediate said first and second supporting walls and in sealing engagement with said housing assembly and said rotary shaft, said wavy-edged hydrodynamic seal comprising a second hydrodynamic lip of cantilevered construction having a predetermined modulus of elasticity and defining a second dynamic surface, said second hydrodynamic lip defining a circular edge generally facing said first supporting wall and at least one hydrodynamic inlet of skewed configuration for facing a lubricant-filled region, said hydrodynamic inlet being skewed in relation to said circular edge and generally facing said second supporting wall, said second hydrodynamic lip having a wavy edge that defines at least one wave having a leading wave edge and a trailing wave edge, said wavy-edged hydrodynamic seal having an anti-rotation projection engaging said recess in said second supporting wall and also having a seal recess generally facing said lubricant-filled region; wherein said wavy-edged hydrodynamic seal and said pressure-generating seal ring define at least a portion of said lubricant-filled region having a pressure, and circulation through said lubricant-filled region cools said housing assembly; a lubricant supply providing a pressurized lubricant to said lubricant-filled region; a flow control regulating the flow of said lubricant; an inboard pressure sensor monitoring said pressure of said lubricant-filled region; at least one bearing within said housing assembly and in said lubricant-filled region; an outboard barrier seal in sealing engagement with said rotary shaft and said housing assembly, said wavy-edged hydrodynamic seal and said outboard barrier seal defining at least part of an outboard sealed region; and an exit port in said housing assembly for draining said outboard sealed region.