Application: Trelleborg launches new seals for oil & gas industry

Houston, Texas – Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has launched XploR S-Seal and XploR FS-Seal, extrusion-resistant elastomers developed for demanding high temperature and high-pressure sealing environments in the oil & gas industry.

XploR S-Seal and XploR FS-Seal are custom-engineered, spring-energised seals and combine the benefits of integral support components with the flexibility of an elastomer seal, Trelleborg said.

"The standard S-Seal has been a key solution for oil and gas engineers for many years and this new version of the proven product is an enhancement to meet the ever more extreme requirements of today's applications," said Eric Bucci, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions global technical manager for the Americas oil and gas market.

"The S-Seal is popular due to its simple one-piece design, anti-extrusion resistance and easy installation into solid grooves, Bucci added.

Now manufactured in industry-specific XploR and incorporating an anti-extrusion feature, the seal can operate in much higher pressures and temperatures experienced in oilfield environments, he added.

While Trelleborg will introduce a standard range later in 2019, many of the applications the company is working on require a custom-designed version.

Offshore oil & gas fields are moving into deeper waters, thus applications are becoming increasingly challenging.

The XploR S-Seal and XploR FS-Seal are able to meet the growing demands to meet critical operating parameters, such as downhole tool applications.

"The XploR S-Seal is very versatile and is not only for downhole tools, but also for use in any static or slow dynamic applications ranging from wellheads to tubing hangers and subsea riser connections of all types," Bucci said.

The seal can replace multi-component sealing configurations containing O-rings, back-up rings, U-cups or T-seals, for example.

This makes seal installation much easier and eliminates multiple part numbers, streamlining customers' procurement and stocking processes.

The temperature and pressure limitations on the standard S-Seal depend on the seal material and its anti-extrusion design. The XploR S-Seal is produced from an oil and gas industry-specific material that can operate at 392°F and 15,000 psi.

The seals are manufactured in a range of XploR Rapid Gas Decompression and sour gas-resistant elastomers along with corrosion-resistant steel springs, Trelleborg said in a news release.

"Custom-engineered seals are sometimes required as equipment manufacturers reduce metal weight, design space-saving tools and think outside the norm," Bucci added.

The typical anti-extrusion device in the standard S-Seal is a metallic garter spring, Bucci explained.

In some instances, the metallic garter spring can wear the mating hardware due to tiny movements of the seal reacting to pressure and thermal fluctuations.

"To minimise the wear on customers' hardware, in the XploR S-Seal we use a composite spring material to be forgiving to the hardware/seal interface. The composite spring is flexible like a metallic garter spring, which allows for easy installation," he concluded.