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T-LON and the Spring Energized Seal

What is a spring energized seal?

Spring energized seals are designed as piston seals, rod seals and face seals to improve application sealing performance. They are a type of U-cup or lip seal that pairs a high-performance engineered plastic – typically polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) – with a corrosion-resistant metal spring to create a high-performance seal. The spring ensures consistent contact with surfaces, even under extreme conditions, by energizing the seal. Spring energized seals are a reliable solution for use in demanding conditions and are manufactured to deliver high-performance in extreme environments with a long service life.

Why is a spring energized seal important?

Spring energized seals can seal in static and dynamic applications and combine the low friction, wide temperature range and chemical resistance characteristics of the SES jacket with the chemical resistance and loading force of a metal spring or elastomer energizer. This creates a consistent and long-life seal that can be used in nearly all applications. Spring energized seals are typically single-acting, but can also be designed for double-acting applications.

Due to their durability, low friction and resistance to compression, spring energized seals are especially used in applications where traditional elastomeric seals fail. Here’s key features of spring energized seals that make them so valuable:

  • Extreme temperature range: Many elastomers degrade at very low or very high temperatures, but spring energized seals do not.

  • Chemical and media compatibility: PTFE and similar polymers are inert to a wide spectrum of chemicals. Combined with a spring energizer design, the result is a seal capable of resisting aggressive media while maintaining sealing force.

  • Low friction and wear resilience: Because the lip is driven by a spring rather than relying solely on interference or surface contact, many of these type of seals achieve lower friction, which is especially beneficial in dynamic applications.

  • Compensation for wear, misalignment and pressure variations: The spring keeps the lip loaded even as it wears or the hardware moves or shifts slightly, or as pressure fluctuates. The result is a more consistent sealing performance.

  • High performance sealing under pressure & vacuum: SES seals can perform in vacuums through very high pressure service settings.

  • Longevity and uptime: By resisting degradation, absorbing motion and maintaining contact force, spring energized seals tend to deliver longer service life and have fewer unexpected failures in challenging systems.

grouping of many imperial seals in brown and black with woman's hands packaging them - spring energized seal

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What are common applications of spring energized seals?

For Aerospace:

  • Fuel systems
  • Landing gear systems

For Oil & Gas:

  • Well Drilling
  • Mining
  • Tank systems
  • Submersible pumps

For Food & Beverage:

  • Coffee machines
  • Blenders/mixers
  • Bottling applications
  • Safety valves

Featured Spring Energized Seals from T-Lon Products

The Spring Energized Seals V Series from T-Lon

V Series SES

Spring Energized Seal - S Series SES from T-LON

S Series SES

Spring Energized Seal > H Series SES u-cup

H Series SES

T-LON’s Spring Energized Seals

T-LON’s Spring Energized Seals are made with a machined polymer U-shaped profile and an energizer installed into the pocket. These can be used in low and high pressure applications. At low pressures, the energizer expands the seal lips radially creating a uniform sealing force. When pressure is applied, the energizer force and the system pressure will energize the lips of the seal. As system pressure increases, the sealing force increases.

T-Lon Spring Energized Seals are available with three main energizer types: “V” cantilever spring, “S” slantpitch spring and “H” helical spring.

V Cantilever Springs:

  • Cost effective
  • Moderate load over a wide deflection range
  • The deflection point is advantageous for scraper lip designs to remove system contaminants

S Slantpitch Springs: 

  • Most versatile with several load options available
  • Wide deflection range

H Helical Springs: 

  • High Load for static/slow dynamic applications
  • Narrow deflection range

Spring energized seals represent a high-reliability sealing solution for demanding environments by providing constant sealing force, broad material compatibility, low friction and long service life. With T-Lon Products and our series of spring energized seals, engineers and maintenance professionals can specify seals that perform where standard elastomers cannot.

Family-owned and operated for 45 years, serving all five continents, T-Lon has combined a progressive customer-centered approach with a no-nonsense financially-sound philosophy to achieve consistent growth and steady customer satisfaction.

This philosophy has allowed T-Lon to position itself for the long-term and continue its tradition of service, quality, and pricing. If you’re looking for reliable, high-performance spring energized seals for your equipment, get in touch with us today to learn more about our sealing solutions.

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