Back to results
US 5,308,269 AGranted
Seal device for rotating shafts, in particular stern tube seal for propeller shafts of a ship
AssigneeBlohm & Voss AG
InventorsErnst-Peter von Bergen, Gunter Pietsch
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention employs the principle of the prior art for cooling a heated body by means of so-called heat pipes, with seal devices for rotating shafts, in particular for a ship's propeller shaft. According to this principle, an externally closed chamber extending in the longitudinal direction and filled with a liquid working fluid extends on one end into the body to be cooled, and on the other end into a cold medium, whereby a constant circulation takes place, so that the work fluid is evaporated in the hot portion of the chamber, the vapor flows into the cold portion of the chamber, condenses there, and the condensate is returned to the hot portion by way of a capillary structure (FIG. 1 ).
Claims14
An ocean-going vessel comprising:
- a hull;
- shaft means extending within the hull and outwardly therefrom;
- a propeller being mounted at an end of said shaft means for propelling said ocean-going vessel;
- means for rotatingly driving said shaft means to rotate said propeller;
- a shaft support system, disposed at least partly within said hull, for encasing said shaft means;
- sealing means, disposed within said shaft support system, for sealing about said shaft means;
- a first portion of said shaft means, being disposed in the vicinity of said sealing means, being configured for being in contact with a lubricating medium, the lubricating medium for lubricating said shaft means;
- another, second portion of said shaft means, being disposed away from said sealing means, being configured for being in contact with water disposed outside of and about said hull, the outside water generally having a substantially lower temperature, during operation of said propeller, than the lubricating medium;
- means for cooling said first portion of said shaft means;
- said cooling means comprising:
- heat pipe means disposed along a longitudinal extent of said shaft means;
- a first portion of said heat pipe means being disposed in a thermally conductive relationship with said first portion of said shaft means and with the lubricating medium;
- a second portion of said heat pipe means being disposed in a thermally conductive relationship with said second portion of said shaft means and with the outside water;
- coolant means for circulating within said heat pipe means;
- said heat pipe means having an interior surface portion;
- said coolant means being configured for vaporizing, upon thermal interaction with the lubricating medium, at said first portion of said heat pipe means and for condensing, upon thermal interaction with the outside water, at said second portion of said heat pipe means;
- capillary means, extending along said interior surface portion of said heat pipe means, for directing return flow of said coolant means between said second portion of said heat pipe means and said first portion of said heat pipe means, when said coolant means has condensed at said second portion of said heat pipe means;
- said heat pipe means comprising opposite ends along the longitudinal extend of said shaft means;
- said heat pipe means being closed at said opposite ends;
- wherein, during operation of said propeller:
- said sealing means are configured for producing heat, said sealing means have a maximum allowable heating temperature, and said heat pipe means has a pressure prevailing therewithin;
- said coolant means having a boiling point at the pressure prevailing within said heat pipe means during operation of said propeller;
- and
- said coolant means being configured such that its boiling point, at the pressure prevailing within said heat pipe means during operation of said propeller, is less than the maximum allowable heating temperature of said sealing means.
21 more elements
A stern tube seal of a deep-draft vessel, the deep-draft vessel comprising:
- a hull;
- shaft means extending within the hull and outwardly therefrom;
- a propeller being mounted at an end of the shaft means for propelling the vessel;
- means for rotatingly driving the shaft means to rotate the propeller;
- a shaft support system, disposed at least partly within the hull, for encasing the shaft means;
- a first portion of the shaft means being configured for being in contact with a lubricating medium, the lubricating medium for lubricating the shaft means;
- another, second portion of the shaft means being configured for being in contact with water disposed outside of and about the hull, the outside water generally having a substantially lower temperature than the lubricating medium during operation of the propeller;
- said stern tube seal comprising:
- sealing means, disposed within the shaft support system, for sealing about the shaft means;
- said sealing means being disposed in the vicinity of the first portion of the shaft means and away from the second portion of the shaft means;
- means for cooling said first portion of the shaft means;
- said cooling means comprising:
- heat pipe means for being disposed along a longitudinal extent of the shaft means;
- a first portion of said heat pipe means for being disposed in a thermally conductive relationship with said first portion of the shaft means and with the first medium;
- a second portion of said heat pipe means for being disposed in a thermally conductive relationship with said second portion of the shaft means and with the second medium;
- coolant means for circulating within said heat pipe means;
- said heat pipe means having an interior surface portion;
- said coolant means being configured for vaporizing, upon thermal interaction with the first medium, at said first portion of said heat pipe means and for condensing, upon thermal interaction with the second medium, at said second portion of said heat pipe means;
- and
- capillary means, extending along said interior surface portion of said heat pipe means, for directing return flow of said coolant means between said second portion of said heat pipe means and said first portion of said heat pipe means, when said coolant means has condensed at said second portion of said heat pipe means;
- said heat pipe means comprising opposite ends along the longitudinal extent of the shaft means;
- said heat pipe means being closed at said opposite ends;
- wherein, during operation of said propeller:
- said sealing means are configured for producing heat, said sealing means have a maximum allowable heating temperature, and said heat pipe means has a pressure prevailing therewithin;
- said coolant means having a boiling point at the pressure prevailing within said heat pipe means during operation of the propeller;
- and
- said coolant means being configured such that its boiling point, at the pressure prevailing within said heat pipe means during operation of the propeller, is less than the maximum allowable heating temperature of said sealing means.
24 more elements
Method of cooling a stern tube seal of an ocean-going vessel, the ocean-going vessel comprising a hull;
- shaft means extending within the hull and outwardly therefrom;
- a propeller being mounted at an end of the shaft means for propelling the vessel;
- means for rotatingly driving the shaft means to rotate the propeller;
- a shaft support system, disposed at least partly within the hull, for encasing the shaft means;
- a first portion of the shaft means being configured for being in contact with a lubricating medium, the lubricating medium for lubricating the shaft means;
- another, second portion of the shaft means being configured for being in contact with water disposed outside of and about the hull;
- the outside water generally having a substantially lower temperature than the lubricating medium during operation of the propeller;
- said method comprising:
- providing sealing means for sealing about the shaft means and disposing the sealing means within the shaft support system, for sealing about the shaft means;
- disposing the sealing means in the vicinity of the first portion of the shaft means and away from the second portion of the shaft means;
- providing means for cooling the first portion of the shaft means;
- providing heat pipe means for the cooling means;
- disposing the cooling means along a longitudinal extent of the shaft means;
- disposing a first portion of the heat pipe means in a thermally conductive relationship with the first portion of the shaft means and with the lubricating medium;
- disposing a second portion of the heat pipe means in a thermally conductive relationship with the second portion of the shaft means and with the outside water;
- providing coolant means for circulating within the heat pipe means;
- providing the heat pipe means with an interior surface portion;
- configuring the coolant means for vaporizing, upon thermal interaction with the lubricating medium, at the first portion of the heat pipe means and for condensing, upon thermal interaction with the outside water, at the second portion of the heat pipe means;
- and
- providing capillary means for extending along the interior surface portion of the heat pipe means, for directing return flow of the coolant means between the second portion of the heat pipe means and the first portion of the heat pipe means, when the coolant means has condensed at the second portion of the heat pipe means;
- said method further comprising the steps of:
- sealing the sealing means about the shaft means;
- cooling the first portion of the shaft means by way of the following steps:
- circulating the coolant means within the heat pipe means;
- effecting thermal interaction of the coolant means with the lubricating medium;
- effecting thermal interaction of the coolant means with the outside water;
- vaporizing the coolant means upon thermal interaction with the lubricating medium, at the first portion of the heat pipe means
- condensing the coolant means upon thermal interaction with the outside water, at the second portion of the heat pipe means;
- directing, by means of the capillary means, return flow of the coolant means between the second portion of the heat pipe means and the first portion of the heat pipe means, when the coolant means has condensed at the second portion of the heat pipe means;
- configuring the heat pipe means to include opposite ends along the longitudinal extent of the shaft means;
- closing the heat pipe means at the opposite ends;
- configuring the vessel such that, during operation of the propeller:
- the sealing means are configured for producing heat, the sealing means have a maximum allowable heating temperature, the heat pipe means has a pressure prevailing therewithin, and the coolant means has a boiling point at the pressure prevailing within the heat pipe means during operation of the propeller;
- configuring the coolant means such that its boiling point, at the pressure prevailing within the heat pipe means during operation of the propeller, is less than the maximum allowable heating temperature of the sealing means;
- and
- heating the coolant means, during operation of the propeller, to a temperature less than the maximum allowable heating temperature of the sealing means.
33 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.