Seal with Integrated Shroud to Protect from Exposure to Extreme Environments

About this technology

Overview

Innovators at NASA's Glenn Research Center have designed a superior seal assembly that is durable and highly dependable in extremely harsh environments. This fault-tolerant design features a novel protective shroud that shields its interior seal element(s) from hazardous conditions that can quickly degrade the seal material and cause higher leak rates. The thin and flexible shroud is able to retract to expose the seal element(s) when the shroud comes into contact with the desired mating surface, ensuring a tight, leak-proof interface. When it is time to break the seal, the process reverses itself, and the shroud arms return to their extended position to cover and protect the seal element(s). Sheltering the seal element(s) when they are not in use extends the lifetime of the seal and lessens the need for expensive and inconvenient maintenance and repairs. Originally designed to protect seals from atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation, and impacts from debris in space, these seals are an ideal solution for a variety of industrial and chemical applications that operate in hazardous conditions.