Apparatus and method for testing the effectiveness of dynamic seals in a dust-laden operating environment
First Claim
1. Test apparatus for testing the sealing effectiveness of dynamic seals having at least one dynamic dust-exclusion seal operating in a dust-laden environment, said test apparatus comprising:
- a housing including a support wall having axially opposite sides and an opening extending axially through said wall between said sides;
a shaft supported for rotation within and spaced radially from a wall of said opening defining an annular gap therebetween;
seal mounting structure associated with said support wall operative to mount a test shaft seal and support the at least one dust-excluding lip in dynamic sealing relation with an associated sealing surface for closing said annular gap;
a dust chamber provided on one side of said wall for exposing an atmospheric side of the test seal to a dust-laden operating environment;
a dust agitation system operative to generate and maintain a dust cloud environment within said dust chamber, and characterized by a dry dust collection chamber provided on the other side of said wall in communication with said dust chamber through said annular gap and operative to collect any dust that may pass by the test seal from said dust chamber.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and procedure is provided for testing and evaluating the sealing effectiveness of dynamic seals of the type having at least one and often at least two dust-excluding seals. Included is a housing having a support wall formed with an opening through which a representative shaft is supported for rotation. An annular gap exists between the shaft and wall opening and is closed by the test seal. A dust chamber is provided on the atmosphere side of the test seal and includes a slow speed dust redistribution device which gathers and transports dust from the bottom of the chamber to the top where it is released and falls back into the chamber. A high speed beater agitation device disperses the released dust to maintain a constant density dust cloud environment within the dust chamber. A dry dust collection chamber is provided on the opposite oil side of the test seal. A separate pumping seal with hydrodynamic features creates a draw of the dust-laden air from the dust chamber toward the dust collection chamber. Dust which passes by the test seal is collected and measured to assess the sealing effectiveness of the test seal.
35 Citations
25 Claims
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1. Test apparatus for testing the sealing effectiveness of dynamic seals having at least one dynamic dust-exclusion seal operating in a dust-laden environment, said test apparatus comprising:
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a housing including a support wall having axially opposite sides and an opening extending axially through said wall between said sides;
a shaft supported for rotation within and spaced radially from a wall of said opening defining an annular gap therebetween;
seal mounting structure associated with said support wall operative to mount a test shaft seal and support the at least one dust-excluding lip in dynamic sealing relation with an associated sealing surface for closing said annular gap;
a dust chamber provided on one side of said wall for exposing an atmospheric side of the test seal to a dust-laden operating environment;
a dust agitation system operative to generate and maintain a dust cloud environment within said dust chamber, and characterized by a dry dust collection chamber provided on the other side of said wall in communication with said dust chamber through said annular gap and operative to collect any dust that may pass by the test seal from said dust chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. Test apparatus for testing the effectiveness of dynamic seals having at least one dynamic dust-exclusion seal operating in a dust-laden environment, said test apparatus comprising:
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a housing including support wall having axially opposite sides and an opening extending axially through said wall between said sides;
a shaft supported for rotation within said opening defining an annular gap therebetween;
seal mounting structure associated with said support wall operative to mount a test shaft seal and support the at least one dust-excluding seal in dynamic sealing relation with an associated sealing surface for closing said annular gap; and
a dust chamber provided on one side of said wall for exposing an atmospheric side of the test seal to a dust-laden operating environment, said dust chamber including a dust redistribution device rotatably driven at relatively low speed within said chamber and operative to collect and transport dust settled at a bottom region to a top region of said chamber whereupon such dust is released and falls through said chamber under the force of gravity back toward said bottom region, and a dust agitation device spaced radially inwardly of said dust redistribution device and rotatably driven within said chamber at a relatively greater speed than that of said dust redistribution device and operative to disperse the dust released from said dust redistribution device to generate and maintain an essentially constant density dust cloud environment within said chamber. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of testing and evaluating the sealing effectiveness of dynamic seals of the type having at least one dust-excluding seal operating in a dust-laden environment, said method comprising:
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mounting a dynamic seal to be tested on a stationary support wall about a rotatable shaft extending through an opening in the wall so as to seal an annular gap between the shaft and a wall of the opening;
rotating the shaft, maintaining a dust-laden environment on an atmosphere side of the test seal;
maintaining a dry environment on an opposite oil side of the test seal in communication with the dust-laden environment through the annular gap and sealed therefrom by the test seal; and
collecting any dust passing through the gap from the dust-laden environment to the dry environment past the test seal. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification