Coring Swivel Seal Assembly

High pressure, high speed core drilling swivels present an extreme rotary sealing challenge, with pressure up to 3,000 psi (20.7 MPa) and surface speeds of 298 to 497 ft/minute (1.52 to 2.53 m/s). Conventional “Half-V” chevron-type washpipe seals were unable to survive for more than eight hours in this severe application. When Kalsi Seals were implemented in a washpipe assembly (below) that was designed and licensed by Kalsi Engineering, Inc., a seal life of over 1,400 hours was achieved in the first field use.

The upper Kalsi Seal serves as a partition between the high pressure drilling fluid and the clean lubricant, and the lower Kalsi Seal retains the pressurized lubricant. A spring-loaded compensating piston amplifies the lubricant pressure slightly above the drilling fluid pressure to promote maximum upper Kalsi Seal life by keeping the seal straight in the gland.

In the high speed coring swivel seal assembly, the upper Kalsi Seal partitions the drilling fluid from the seal lubricant, and the lower Kalsi Seal retains the pressurized lubricant. A spring-loaded piston amplifies the pressure of the seal lubricant above that of the drilling fluid pressure to improve the abrasion resistance of the upper Kalsi Seal.
 

Kalsi Engineering, Inc.   745 Park Two Drive   Sugar Land, Texas  77478-2885  Tel: (281) 240-6500    Fax: (281) 240-0255