Case studies

Omniseal® Metal Face Seals
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Weather Satellite Calibration Instrument

    Hilde Joosen
Cryogenic Extreme Environment

Environment

There are a variety of satellites, each with a specific function and supporting a specific aspect of our daily life. It can be used to enhance navigation, GPS or internet communication; to monitor tides; or to forecast weather. In order to link with each function, a satellite carries instrumentation that needs to operate for many years since maintenance is not possible on a satellite. Instrumentation also needs to be protected from the outside atmosphere, all of which are possibly detrimental, as well as from internal corrosive fluids and substances that are carried by the satellite for its other functions (such as hypergolic fuels that power its thrusters).

Weather Calibration Instrument Metal Seal

Sealing components are used in several satellite applications where allowable leakage is very low and needs to be kept stable for many years such as in electric thruster tanks and optical systems.

Challenge

Extreme tight leakage is mandatory in this type of application as protection of key electronic systems such as altitude or system sensors becomes the priority. However, most sealing solutions such as PTFE seals tend to be restricted to the permeability of the PTFE in cryogenic conditions and cannot meet the stringent leakage requirements.

Metal Seals Instrumentation
Spring-Energized C-Seal
Metal Seals Space Instrumentation

Solution

Omniseal® spring-energized metal C-Seals are the sealing solution that protects these weather calibration instruments since they are the most suitable in meeting challenging leakage requirements and have no problem with permeability. The silver plating is a critical factor in making the tightness more “soft” to fill microscopic voids on the mating surfaces. The spring is key to maintaining tightness when gaps are created by different thermal expansion of the mating surfaces (stainless steel and aluminium).

Fair weather ahead when you use metal sealing solutions.

Benefits

  • Maintains very low leakage with different thermal expansion of the mating materials

  • Handles mating surfaces with different coefficients of thermal expansion

  • Designed to respect compression loads constraints

Tags: Cryogenic Extreme Environment