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Article re-posted with permission from Parker Hannifin Sealing & Shielding Team.

Original content can be found on Parker’s Website and was written by Nathan Wells, application engineer, Engineered Polymer Systems Division.

So, you’ve unboxed the shiny new Parker seals you ordered – now what?  Installing seals for the first time can be challenging without the right know-how and tools. In this article we’ll discuss best practices for seal installation in linear fluid power systems, and how to design your system to make seal installation fast and damage-free.

SEAL GROOVE STYLES

First, let’s look at three common groove styles:

•    Closed
•    Stepped, and
•    Open (or two-piece)

Closed groove

The closed seal groove fully encapsulates the seal and is the most common style used (see Figure 1).

Closed grooves are simple to machine and offer the best support for seals. Since seals in this configuration are surrounded by solid metal, without a well-developed process, installation can be challenging. Rod seals need to be folded to fit into internal (throat) grooves and piston seals must be stretched over the outside of the piston.

Notice how both designs shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 utilize static seals (turquoise colored seal) on the opposing side of the dynamic, primary seals. Therefore, installation in either instance requires techniques and tools for both rod and piston seals.

Stepped groove

Typically utilized to ease seal installation, stepped grooves feature a reduced diameter on the low-pressure side of the seal as shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5.

As shown, the “step” is just wide enough to hold the seal in place as the rod or piston strokes back and forth. This way, seals don’t have to be folded or stretched nearly as much when installing. This design works well for single seals only holding pressure from one direction, like Parker FlexiSeals™.

When using multiple seals stacked in series or in systems with bi-directional pressure, a closed or two-piece groove is needed for support on both sides.

Open and two-piece grooves

Open or two-piece grooves are used when the seal is either too small to be stretched or folded into a closed groove, or if it’s made of a material that doesn’t spring back after flexing.

Figures 6 and 7 show two examples of open grooves. Figure 6 uses a washer and a snap ring to hold the seal in place. Figure 7 uses a bolt-on cap. These groove designs can be used for bi-directional seals, too. As you can see, open grooves cost more to produce but seal installation is a snap.

Open grooves also make removing the seal much easier – useful in systems which require periodic seal replacement.