What are Hydraulic Seals?
Hydraulic Seals are relatively soft, non-metallic rings, placed in a groove or fixed in a combination of rings, forming a seal assembly. This assembly is used to block or separate fluid in reciprocating motion applications. Hydraulic seals use is critical in providing a way for fluid power to be converted to linear motion.
Hydraulic seals can be made from a variety of materials such as polyurethane, rubber or PTFE (a generic compound of Teflon™, a trademark of The Chemours Company). The type of material is determined by the specific operating conditions or limits due to fluid type, pressure, fluid chemical compatibility, or temperature.
Loaded U-Seals come in the following styles, including:
- RTUB standard loaded rod seals
- Standard Loaded U-seals
- Deep Loaded U-seals
- B-Type Loaded U-seals
- DRU-style Unloaded U-seals
- BS (DRTU-style) Unloaded U-seals
- DPU-style Unloaded U-seals
- DSU-style Unloaded U-seals
- HU-style Unloaded U-seals
- 8400-style Unloaded Symmetrical U-seals (Pneumatics)
A static seal is located in a groove and sees no movement, only sealing within its confined space. A type of dynamic hydraulic seal is called a rod seal and is exposed to movement on its inner diameter along the shaft or rod of a hydraulic cylinder. Another type of dynamic hydraulic seal is called a piston seal and is exposed to movement on its outer diameter along the tube or bore of a hydraulic cylinder.
This class of seals is a U-seal or U-cup and comes in loaded and unloaded styles.
U-seals are available in standard and metric sizes.
Design & Application Standards
Pneumatic seals, like hydraulic cylinders, something forces a piston to move in the desired direction. Pneumatic cylinders use the power of compressed gas to produce a force in a reciprocating linear motion. Pneumatic seals are symmetrical unloaded U-seals that work for both rod and piston applications. These are unloaded, meaning there is a gap between the inner and outer lips which allows for greater flexibility. They can withstand pressure up to 1,250 psi, and temperatures from -65 to 300F. They have a symmetrical cross-section, meaning the inside lip is the same as the outside lip.
Other items used with hydraulic seal applications include:
Pip Rings are complimentary to B-Type U-seals, transforming the B-Type U-seal from uni-directional to bi-directional seals.
Modular Backup rings, made from urethane or nylon, are commonly used as spacers for U-seals.
Z-seals are symmetrical loaded U-seals that work for both rod and piston applications. The load is much larger, creating two complementary methods of sealing, a nitrile lip, and a urethane base.