Compression seal fitting

A Compression seal fitting, also known as a sealing gland, is intended to seal some type of element (probe, wire, conductor, pipe, tube, fiber optic cable) when the element must pass through a pressure or environmental boundary. A compression seal fitting may serve several purposes:

A compression seal fitting, unlike an epoxy seal or a gasket, uses mechanical components and an axial force to compress a soft sealant inside a body which then creates a seal. An epoxy seal differs in that it is composed of some type of compound which is poured into a mold in an attempt to create a seal.

Applications

Typical applications include pressure vessels, autoclaves, holding tanks, pipelines, furnaces, or anywhere wires or sensors need to pass from inside to outside a vessel or wall where the pressure differentials or hazardous environments cause concern.

Components

A very basic compression seal fitting is composed of four mechanical parts:

A single compression seal fitting may seal on a single or multiple elements. Sealing glands designed to seal on single elements consist of a body, cap, sealant and follower. When sealing on multiple elements, gland designs also include a seat and an anti-rotation pin to prevent wires/conductors from twisting and shearing. One or more insulators may also be included when electrical isolation is required.

History and development

Soft sealant technology for compression seal fittings was developed in the 1950s by Conax Technologies. Since then, compression seal fittings have evolved to include multiple variations for different applications. Some applications include:

Single Element Sealing

Single element compression seal fittings are used to seal a single element such as a temperature probe, tubewell, pipe, etc.

Multiple Element Sealing

Multiple element compression seal fittings are used when multiple elements of the same or different diameters such as metal tubing, ceramic or rigid plastic tube or pipe, temperature probe, a tubewell, low voltage instrumentation wire or a power supply feedthrough.

See also

External links

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