by Sara McCaslin, PhD Sara McCaslin, PhD No Comments

Spring Energized Seals in the Oil and Gas Industry

The oil and gas industry is home to some of the most intense operating conditions for seals: HPHT (High Pressure, High Temperature), corrosive chemicals, and very dangerous repercussions if seals fail. When all other sealing solutions fail, spring-energized seals are often the answer.

How are spring energized seals used in the oil and gas industry? Spring energized seals are used for a variety of applications including valves, well head connectors, couplings, loading swivels, and more.

Spring Energized Seals in Oil and Gas Applications

Seals are used throughout the oil and gas industry, including applications as diverse as …

  • Anti-Blow Out Seals
  • Couplings
  • Downhole Tools
  • Emergency Release Systems
  • Loading Swivels
  • Logging Tools
  • Quick Connect/Disconnect Couplings
  • Rotary Drill Bits
  • Surface and Subsea Well Heads
  • Swivel Stack Seals
  • Top Drive Units
  • Valves
  • Well Head Connectors

A seal failure in any of these areas could quickly lead to injured personnel, environmental damage, and ruined equipment. Seals for such applications must be rugged, reliable, and chemically resistant. They must be compatible with corrosive chemicals such as H2S, aromatic hydrocarbons, supercritical CO2, oil, and methanol,–and they need to be resistant to chemical permeation, as well. They generally need to be flameproof, tough, and wear-resistant as well.

Spring-Energized Seals

A spring-energized seal has a spring (the energizer) that applies additional force to the seal lip to maintain contact between the lip and the sealing surface. This energizing effect can account for issues related to dimensional changes, extreme pressure variations, wear on the edge of the seal lip, and other phenomena that can lead to a leaking seal. 

With the right choice of spring geometry, a constant force can be applied to the sealing lip to ensure its full engagement with the sealing surface, even through extreme pressure variation, temperature changes, wear on the shaft, and alignment issues. Spring energized seals can also be used with backup rings, or BURs, to prevent extrusion problems with the seal lip.

Lip Materials for Spring-Energized Seals

The seal lip material is also key, with the most commonly used polymers for oil and gas sealing challenges being PEEK and PTFE. They are both chemically inert, tough, wear-resistant, flame resistant, and offer outstanding performance even in the presence of extreme temperatures. Both of these materials work extremely well with spring energizer to result in excellent spring-energized seals for the oil and gas industry. They also have very low coefficients of friction and low CTEs (coefficient of thermal expansion).

PEEK performs well at pressures up to 20 kpsi, has a maximum temperature operating temperature of 500°F, and is also available will fillers to provide additional strength and hardness. Many grades PTFE has a maximum operating temperature close to 575°F and can handle high pressures. They are both dry running, as well, which makes them ideal for situations where traditional lubrication is not feasible.

Conclusion

If you are in the market for a reliable sealing solution for an oil and gas application, be sure to consider spring energized seals. They perform where many other types of seals fail, can be used with backup rings, are commonly used in petrochemical applications, and can be designed with a PEEK or PTFE seal lip for maximum performance.

Spring Loaded Seal
by Jackie Johnson Jackie Johnson No Comments

The Benefits of Modified PTFE

Spring Energized PTFE Seal

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a chemically resilient fluoroplastic. An incredibly versatile material, PTFE is used (at least in some capacity) in nearly every industry imaginable. PTFE has its limitations, however.

What are the benefits of modified PTFE? Modified PTFE (or MPTFE) pushes the limits of regular PTFE, offering exciting new possibilities for a wide variety of applications. The reason behind such improvements? MPTFE, also known as TFM (trade name of Daikin) is a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and a small quantity of a perfluorinated modifier (perfluoropropyl vinyl ether, PPVE).

In other words, MTFM has added chemicals that make it stronger and more versatile than regular PTFE. And because of its strength and versatility, modified PTFE is used in a wide variety of industries. These include, but are not limited to, automotive, aerospace, medical device, LNG and more.

Modified PTFE is a Strong and Versatile Material

Modified PTFE has several advantages over regular PTFE. It has a substantially reduced deformation under load- 4% for Modified PTFE vs 10% for PTFE. This, as well as improved flexibility, make modified PTFE great for devices that need a little give but won’t break under pressure.

MPTFE also has lower porosity and permeability which helps reduce the amount of liquid absorption, making it perfect for products such as seals for wet environments. On top of that, modified PTFE has smoother surfaces, nonstick and dielectric properties, and a reduced cold flow. It has good metering properties, good electrical and mechanical properties. And with excellent fuel and additive resistance, MPTFE can replace conventional materials such as PTFE and make it easier to use more aggressive lubricants and seal designs.

In Conclusion

As you can see, MPTFE is an incredibly versatile and strong material to use. It can withstand more abuse than the average PTFE, giving it a clear advantage for a variety of applications. Use modified PTFE for your next project and let Advanced EMC Technologies help you create products that take full advantage of this wonderful material.

Contact us today to learn more!