SEALING MEANS,PRIMARILY FOR A PENSTOCK OR SLUICE GATE

Abstract: A sealing arrangement primarily for a penstock or sluice gate which comprises a door (11) movable between an open position and a closed position in which it closes an opening in a frame (10) and sealing faces (27, 26) of the door and the frame are in sealing engagement to prevent the flow of liquid through the opening. The sealing arrangement comprises a sealing strip (23) secured by mechanically interlocked formations (25) to a mounting strip (24) of a resiliently deformable material formed with an internal cavity (28), the mounting strip being secured by bolts (29) to the frame (10). The sealing strip (23) provides a sealing face (26) which, when the door is closed, is urged resiliently by the mounting strip (24) into sealing engagement with the door.

Description: Title: "Sealing means, primarily for a penstock or sluice gate" Description of Invention This invention relates to sealing arrangements of the kind in which a seal is provided between two members by mutual contact of two sealing faces of the respective members. The invention has been devised primarily, but not 5 exclusively, in connection with penstocks or sluice gates of the ' kind comprising a frame to be mounted in an , aperture or channel and defining an opening for the passage of liquid flowing through the aperture or along the channel, and a door which is movable between a closed 0 position in which sealing faces of the door and the frame are brought into sealing engagement thereby to close the opening and shut off the flow of liquid through the aperture or along the channel, and an open position in which the sealing faces are disengaged so that liquid is 15 permitted to flow through the aperture or along the channel. In such a penstock or sluice gate, the door and the frame constitute the members of a sealing arrangement as referred to herein. The invention will be particularly described in 20 relation to penstocks or sluice gates but there is no limitation in this regard as the invention has other applications, for example in valves. It is important in a penstock or sluice gate that there is an effective seal between the door and the frame ~r> when the door is in its closed position, otherwise liquid would leak through the penstock or sluice gate. With conventional penstocks or sluice gates, however, problems arise in ensuring that an effective seal is produced. O PI -2- The object of the present invention is to provide an improved sealing arrangement. A particular aim of the invention is to provide a sealing arrangement in a penstock or sluice gate which is of a simple construction and is capable of providing an effective seal between the door and the frame when the door is closed. According to the invention, there is provided a sealing arrangement in which a seal " is provided between two members by mutual contact of two sealing faces of the respective members wherein the sealing face of one of the members is provided by a face of a sealing element which is mounted on a mounting element of a resiliently deform- able material, the mounting element having an internal cavity and being secured to said member with said face of the sealing element facing the sealing face of the other member and the mounting element disposed between said member and the sealing element whereby the sealing face of the sealing element is urged resiliently by the mounting .element into sealing engagement with the other sealing face to provide the seal between the two members. Preferably the sealing element is secured to the mounting-element by mechanically interlocked formations. Thus, the mounting element may be provided with a channel of dovetail shape in cross-section, the sealing element having a portion of corresponding cross-section which is received in the channel. The mounting element is preferably secured " to the associated member by mechanical fixing means. If desired, the cavity in the mounting member may be filled with a soft material. The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- O FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a penstock or sluice gate incorporating one form of sealing arrangement embodying the invention; and FIGURE 2 is a section on the line A-A of Figure 1. The penstock or sluice gate illustrated in the drawings basically comprises a rectangular metal frame 10 and a rectangular door 11. The frame comprises two . vertical channel section members 12 at opposite sides thereof, a lower cross member 13 . an upper cross member 14 and two spaced intermediate cross members 15. The cross members 13 and 15 and the lower portions of the side members 12 together form a rectangular opening in the lower part of the frame, and the frame is intended to be mounted against a vertical wall 'W having an aperture in it so that water (or other liquid) flowing through the aperture will pass through this opening in the frame. . . The door 11 is guided for movement in a vertical plane relative to the frame 10 by the two vertical channel section members 12, the side portions of the door being located in the channels of the respective members. The door is movable between an open position in which it is disposed in the upper part of the frame and is clear of the lower opening in the frame so that water can flow through the opening from the aperture in the wall 'W , and a closed position in which it is disposed in the lower part of frame and closes the opening so that the flow of water from the aperture is shut off. Raising and lowering of the door are effected by a screw-threaded spindle 16 connected to the door and passing through a screw-threaded sleeve 17 mounted on the upper cross member 14 of the frame. In the embodiment illustrated, the spindle is operable by a hand wheel 18 although it may be operable by an electric motor. In an alternative arrangement the spindle is axially fixed relative to the frame but turnable by a hand wheel or r\>.- r ~ι -it- other means and passes through a screw-threaded sleeve on the door. In yet a further arrangement, the door is raised and lowered by a hydraulic or pneumatic linear actuator. When the door 11 is in its closed position, a seal is provided between the door and the frame 10 along the sides, the top and the bottom of the door. Referring to Figure 2, the vertical channel section member 12 at each side of the door " has secured to one limb 19 thereof a vertical guide strip 20, for example of polyethylene, which extends from the bottom of the member to a location between the cross members 14 and 15 and guides- the door as it is moved between its open and closed positions. The guide strip is secured to the frame by a series of vertically spaced bolts 21. The other limb 22 of the member is provided with a sealing arrangement embodying the invention, and % dentical sealing arrangements are also provided along the inter¬ mediate and lower cross memb-ers 15 and 13 of the frame. Each sealing arrangement comprises, as in the case of the arrangement shown in Figure 2, a sealing element 23 in the form of a strip of a hard material, for example polyethylene, having a low coefficient of friction and a mounting element 24 in the form of a strip of a resiliently deformable material, for example ethylene propylene. The mounting element 24 is formed with a longitudinal channel 25 of dovetail shape in cross- section and the sealing element 23 is of trapezoidal cross-section so that a portion thereof is a snap-in fit in the channel, the portion projecting from the channel providing a sealing face 26 for engagement with the opposed face of the side portion of the door in the case of each side sealing arrangement or the opposed face of the upper or lower portion of the door in the case of the upper or lower sealing arrangement, the face of the door constituting a sealing face 27. The sealing element is therefore secured to the mounting element by mechanically O interlocked formations. The sealing element at each side of the door extends from the bottom of the associated member 12 to the cross members 15 and the upper and lower sealing elements extend the full length of the cross members 13 and 15. The mounting element 24 is formed with a longi¬ tudinally extending internal cavity 28 of the cross- section shown. Provided inside this cavity opposite ' and at a spacing from the portion 32 of the wall of the element carrying the sealing element 23 is a longitudinally extending rib 33.- The mounting element 24 is secured to the frame 10 by a series of spaced bolts 29 which pass through apertures in a fixing strip 30, for example of poly¬ ethylene, apertures in a flange 31 projecting laterally from and formed integrally with the mounting element, and apertures in the frame so that the flange is. clamped between the strip and. the frame. The arrangement is that as the door 11 is .lowered to its closed position, the guide strips 20 at the sides of the door urge the door towards the four sealing arrange¬ ments so that when the door is closed, the sealing faces 26, 27 of each arrangement are pressed together. A seal is therefore formed around the door. Movement of the door towards the sealing arrange- ments causes resilient deformation of each mounting element 24 and therefore the sealing engagement is assisted by the sealing face 26 of the sealing element 23 being urged resiliently into engagement with the corresponding face 27 of the door. Initially, the mounting element is readily deformable as the wall portion 32 of the mounting element carrying the sealing element is merely deformed inwardly, but this wall portion then contacts the rib 33 and as a result there is an increased resistance to further deformation of the wall portion. Thus deformation of the mounting element firstly involves deformation of the wall portion and then •^OREΛ Γ - 6- both deformation of the wall portion and compression of the rib.The cavity in the mounting element may be filled with a soft material, for example a foam plastics material. The sealing arrangement along the lower cross member 13 of the frame which co-operates with the lower part of the door, may be replaced by a so-called flush invert assembly of conventional form comprising a resiliently deformable sealing member attached to the lower edge of the door and arranged to co-operate with the lower cross member. The penstock or sluice gate illustrated in the drawings may be used to control the flow of water in one or the other direction through the opening in the frame. The guide strips 20 may be adjustable relative to the frame 10 towards and away from the sealing elements 23 to ensure proper sealing engagement between jshe door * 11 and the sealing elements.

Claims: C AIMS : 1. A sealing arrangement in which a seal is provided between two members by mutual contact of two sealing faces of the respective members, characterised in that the sealing face of one of the members is provided by a face of a sealing element which is mounted on a mounting element of a resiliently deformable material, the mounting element having an internal cavity and being secured to said member with said face of the sealing element facing the sealing face of the other member and the mounting element disposed between said one member and the sealing element whereby the sealing face of the sealing element is urged resiliently by the mounting element into sealing engagement with the other sealing face to provide the seal between the two members. • • ' 2. A sealing arrangement as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the sealing element is secured to the mounting element by mechanically interlocked formations. 3. A sealing arrangement as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the mounting element is provided with a channel of dovetail shape in cross-section, the sealing element having a portion of corresponding cross-section which is received in the channel. 4. A sealing arrangement as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 - wherein the mounting element is secured to the associated member by mechanical fixing means. 5. A sealing arrangement as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the mounting element is formed with a laterally projecting flange which is secured to the associated member by said mechanical fixing means. - !REΛ -8- 6. A sealing arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the cavity in the mounting member is filled with a soft material. 7. A sealing arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the mounting element is formed, inside the cavity therein, with a projection which is disposed opposite and at a spacing- from a portion of the wall of the element carrying the sealing element so as to be contacted by said wall portion on deformation thereof thereby to provide increased resistance to further deformation of the mounting element. 8. A sealing arrangement as claimed in any one of the preceding claims which is incorporated in a penstock or sluice gate comprising a frame to be mounted in an aperture or channel and defining an opening * for the passage of liquid flowing through the aperture or along the channel, and a door which 'is movable between a closed position in which sealing faces of the door and the frame are brought into sealing engagement thereby to close the opening and shut off the flow of liquid through the aperture or along the channel, and an open position in which the sealing faces are disengaged so that liquid is permitted to flow through the aperture or along the channel, the frame constituting the said one member of the arrangement and the door constituting the said other member. 9. - A sealing arrangement as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the frame of the penstock or sluice gate includes two spaced channel section members and the side portions of the door are located in the respective channels of said members, one limb of one of the members having secured to it the mounting element and the sealing element of the sealing arrangement and one limb of the other member having secured to it a further said mounting element and -9- sealing element, the sealing faces of the two sealing elements being arranged to engage opposite side portions of the door when the latter is in the closed position, and the other limbs of the two members carrying guide strips arranged to guide the door in its movement between the open and closed positions and to urge it, when in the closed position, towards the sealing elements. 10. A sealing arrangement incorporated in a penstock or sluice gate substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: ASTON R, LINE P
Applicants: ASTON R, BAKER HAM & CO LTD, LINE P, HAM BAKER & CO LTD
Application year: 1981
Main classification: E02B7
IPC codes: E02B7, F16K3