Patent ID: 8136544

Claim:
A sealing apparatus for accommodating pressure differential between opposite sides of a conduit member contained within a pressure vessel, the sealing apparatus comprising: seal ring segments located on and extending around a lower outer surface portion of the conduit member in a plane perpendicular to a central conduit axis; a plurality of spaced retaining rods located on and extending outwardly from a peripheral surface of the seal ring segments; a flange member having a slot formed on one end thereof for receiving the seal ring segments and at least one fastening bore opening into the slot for receiving one of the retaining rods therein, each seal ring segment being movably mounted on at least one ring retaining rod, the neighboring seal ring segments being joined to each other to form first fluid tight connections, the seal ring segments being arranged around and overlapping at least part of the conduit member along a lengthwise direction as an elongated body; a first fastening member mounted on and adapted to retain the one end of each seal ring segment on the retaining rod; and a first resilient member disposed between each first fastening member and the respective seal ring segment to resiliently load the seal ring segments against the conduit member to form second fluid tight connections; a plurality of pressure relief openings formed in the flange member; and a resiliently biased door located over and covering the pressure relief opening, wherein the other end of the flange member is attached to a seal plate spaced at a distance from the conduit member to form third fluid tight connections, wherein the first, second and third fluid tight connections form a fluid tight seal between opposite sides of the conduit member, and wherein the resiliently biased door is adapted to close the pressure relief opening when the pressure differential is below a predetermined threshold pressure value and to open and reduce the pressure differential when the pressure differential is equal to or exceeds the predetermined threshold pressure value.