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Offering
the highest performance among O-ring alternatives,
spring-energized seals feature a PTFE (Teflon®)
jacket uniformly energized by a spring made of
stainless steel or Elgiloy®, as shown in Figure
146. In addition to being chemically inert (making
it resistant to harsh environments), the PTFE jacket
minimizes both break-out and running
friction. The jacket’s high shear
modulus resists extrusion,
and the stable cross-section resists spiraling.
PTFE seals can also function across a wide temperature
range. Spring-energized PTFE seals are the
most expensive of the alternatives outlined in
this section.
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“Though
O-rings are ideal for a wide variety of applications, they are not the best solution to
every design problem.”
Figure 146
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