Patent ID: 7320468

Claim:
A sealing arrangement for sealing a leakage gap between relatively moveable parts in a flow path between a region of high fluid pressure and a region of low fluid pressure, the sealing arrangement comprising: a hydrodynamic circumferential sealing member having an upstream surface, a downstream surface, a radially outer surface and a radially inner surface; and a resilient element that attaches the sealing member to a housing, wherein the resilient element is fixedly joined to the upstream surface of the sealing member such that during operation both a radial force induced on the sealing member by fluid flowing axially into and circumferentially over the radially inner surface and an axial force induced on the sealing member because of a pressure difference across the sealing member is resisted by the resilient element, and sealing means is provided between the downstream surface of the sealing member and the housing, the sealing means formed as a radially resilient ring located in a circumferential groove provided in the housing such that in operation the sealing means is in sliding contact with the housing and the sealing member.