Patent Application
20140169951
The present invention relates to cooling systems, and more particularly to compressor motor housings for such cooling systems, as well as a method of manufacturing a compressor motor housing.
O-ring seal arrangements are employed in a wide variety of applications for sealing purposes. Typically, the O-ring seal is seated within an O-ring groove and compressed to cause a reactive force which seals a passage between two surfaces and regions. As pressure is applied to compress the seal, the seal often displaces against a wall of the O-ring groove, thereby distorting the seal further and providing an increased reactive force on the two surfaces to be sealed. Such an arrangement is suitable when high pressure is consistently applied on one side of the seal since the seal is moved against the same wall of the O-ring groove. However, some applications require both high pressure conditions and vacuum operation proximate one side of the seal. Under vacuum operation, the seal moves to a distinct wall, thereby leaving a void proximate the other wall. During such a condition, dirt, contaminants, and foreign objects may fall into the void, which unfortunately cause damage to the seal when reenergized at high pressure. Such damage may result in leakage of oil, refrigerant and air, among other undesirable effects.
According to one embodiment, a compressor motor housing includes an aft region having a radially inner surface defining an inner diameter and a radially outer surface defining an outer diameter. Also included is an O-ring groove extending around at least a portion of the aft region within the radially outer surface. The O-ring groove includes a groove width, a groove depth and a groove diameter, wherein a width ratio defined by the groove width in relation to the groove diameter ranges from about 0.0257 to about 0.0272. The O-ring groove also includes an axially forward face, an axially aft face and a circumferential face disposed radially outwardly from the radially inner surface. The compressor motor housing further includes an O-ring seal simultaneously disposed in contact with the axially forward face, the axially aft face and the circumferential face.
According to another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a compressor motor housing is provided. The method includes machining an O-ring groove within a radially outer surface of an aft region of the compressor motor housing. Also included is defining the O-ring groove with an axially forward face, an axially aft face and a circumferential face disposed radially outwardly from a radially inner surface of the aft region of the compressor motor housing, wherein the axially forward face, the axially aft face and the circumferential face define a groove width, a groove depth and a groove diameter. Further included is dimensionally spacing the axially forward face, the axially aft face and the circumferential face with a width ratio defined by the groove width in relation to the groove diameter, the width ratio ranging from about 0.0257 to about 0.0272, the O-ring groove fittingly accommodating an O-ring seal simultaneously disposed in contact with the axially forward face, the axially aft face and the circumferential face.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring to
Referring now to
In order to effectively control the desired pressurized environment within the inner chamber 20, an O-ring seal groove 22 extends around at least a portion of the aft region 14 and is formed within the radially outer surface 16. The O-ring groove 22 is configured to accommodate an O-ring (not shown) to provide a seal between the inner chamber 20 and an exterior region. The O-ring groove 22 has a groove width 24 that is defined by an axially forward face 26 and an axially aft face 28. The O-ring groove 22 also has a groove depth 30 that is defined by a circumferential face 32 that is disposed radially outwardly from the radially inner surface 18 and the radially outer surface 16 of the aft region 14. Another dimension defining the O-ring groove 22 is a groove diameter 34 that is measured from a first location 36 of the circumferential face 32 and a second, oppositely disposed location 38 (i.e., two distant points) of the circumferential face 32.
The dimensions described in detail above may vary depending on the application, however, in an exemplary embodiment the relationships between the dimensions achieve greater sealing, particularly when used with industry standardized O-ring seals. Specifically, the relationships include a width ratio and a depth ratio. The width ratio is defined by the groove width 24 divided by the groove diameter 34, while the depth ratio is defined by the groove depth 30 divided by the groove diameter 34. Therefore, the following equations define the width ratio and the depth ratio:
, where W represents the groove width 24, G represents the groove diameter 34 and D represents the groove depth 30.
In one exemplary embodiment, the width ratio ranges from about 0.0257 to about 0.0272 and the depth ratio ranges from about 0.0157 to about 0.0162. The precise dimensions associated with the ratios described above will vary based on the particular application, however, in one embodiment the groove width 24 ranges from about 0.168 inches (about 4.267 mm) to about 0.178 inches (about 4.521 mm), the groove diameter 34 ranges from about 6.536 inches (about 166.0 mm) to about 6.540 inches (about 166.1 mm), and the groove depth 30 ranges from about 0.1022 inches (about 2.596 mm) to about 0.1058 inches (about 2.687 mm).
Referring now to
A method of manufacturing a compressor inlet housing 100 is also provided as illustrated in
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
