Trelleborg claims helicopter-seal “breakthrough”

Farnborough, UK – Trelleborg Sealing Solutions is unveiling a sealing product at the UK’s Farnborough Air Show, 16-22 July, which it claims could “radically improve the reliability” of rotary-wing aircraft.

In a 10 July statement, TSS said that it had developed the Turcon Varilip PDR RT rotary shaft seal to meet growing demand to provide seal integrity at increasingly higher rotational wing speeds.

Trelleborg, which already offers standard version of the Turcon Varilip PDR, claims that the new seal operates effectively with less power and more efficiently.

The company has optimised the design, so it can run on a range of surface finishes and coatings, including ceramics.

TSS said it had developed a process that facilitates a seal with less torque, friction and heat to reduce maintenance.  This, is said to “radically improve” the reliability and boost the performance of rotary wing aircraft – mainly helicopters.

A key challenge for the developers was to ensure that lubrication is maintained at high surface speeds, explained Torben Andersen, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions director of aerospace.

“Any leakage would compromise the operation of the aircraft,” explained Andersen.

For the development, Trelleborg designed bespoke high-speed test equipment capable of running at speeds of up to 24,000 rpm and closely following the way rotary wing aircraft gearboxes work.

Although initially designed for rotary wing aircraft, the seal can also lend itself to other applications that require high speed rotary performance.

According to Trelleborg, the product is already generating interest from designers of electromechanical actuators and from other market segments.