Deoiler seal
AssigneeHamilton Sundstrand Corporation
InventorsKeith E. Short, Michael R. Blewett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An assembly includes a housing having a housing cavity, an inlet, and an outlet, a rotatable shaft positioned proximate the outlet, and a seal positioned at an interface of the rotatable shaft and the housing. The seal includes porous material adjacent the shaft and the housing and a shell substantially separating the porous material from the housing cavity. The shell includes an inlet that allows fluid flow from the housing cavity to the porous material and an outlet that allows fluid flow from the porous material to the housing interior. The inlet is positioned radially inward of the outlet.
Claims20
An assembly comprising:
- a housing having a housing cavity, an inlet, and an outlet;
- a rotatable shaft positioned proximate the outlet;
- a seal positioned at an interface of the rotatable shaft and the housing, wherein the seal comprises:
- porous material adjacent the shaft and the housing;
- and
- a shell substantially separating the porous material from the housing cavity, the shell comprising:
- an inlet that allows fluid flow from the housing cavity to the porous material;
- and
- an outlet that allows fluid flow from the porous material to the housing cavity, wherein the inlet is positioned radially inward of the outlet.
A method for operating an assembly, the method comprising:
- rotating a shaft about a centerline axis, wherein the shaft is positioned proximate an outlet of a gearbox housing;
- sealing an interface between the shaft and the gearbox housing via a seal mounted on the shaft, wherein the seal comprises porous material adjacent the shaft and the gearbox housing, the seal comprises a shell substantially separating the porous material from a housing cavity of the gearbox housing, and the shell comprises an inlet that allows fluid flow from the housing cavity to the porous material and an outlet that allows fluid flow from the porous material to the housing cavity, wherein the inlet is positioned radially inward of the outlet;
- flowing an air-oil mist through the shell inlet;
- separating oil from the air-oil mist within the seal;
- and
- flowing the oil out of the seal through the shell outlet positioned radially outward of the shell inlet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.