Anti-thermal shrinkage support ring for a dynamic radial seal

Abstract

Systems and methods include providing a seal for an assembly. The seal includes a jacket having a base, an inner sealing leg, and an outer sealing leg, and further includes a spring disposed within the jacket between and in contact with the inner sealing leg and the outer sealing leg. The spring includes an annular support ring disposed within the spring. The support ring biases an outer diameter (OD) of the spring towards the outer sealing leg of the jacket to maintain contact pressure between the inner sealing leg of the jacket and the shaft of the assembly. The support ring controls thermal shrinkage of the spring and the outer sealing leg to maintain a seal between a housing and a shaft of the assembly when the assembly is operated at cryogenic temperatures.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.