GB2182986A

GB2182986A - Sealing contiguous joint- members

Info

Publication number: GB2182986A
Application number: GB08528427A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Edward Ball; Francis John Trotman
Original assignee: BTR PLC
Current assignee: BTR PLC
Priority date: 1985-11-19
Filing date: 1985-11-19
Publication date: 1987-05-28
Also published as: GB8528427D0

Abstract

Contiguous joint-members, e.g. panels (10), are provided around their periphery with two or more rebates (20, 21). One of the two rebates contains a sealing member (e.g. an O-ring of resilient material) and the other rebate is left empty. When the two joint-members are brought into abutment (Fig. 5), the sealing member on the first joint- member engages, in a complementary manner, the empty rebate on the second joint-member, and vice versa, to form a double labyrinthine seal. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sealing contiguous joint-members This invention relates to a method of sealing contiguous joint-members and to articles made thereby. Although the present invention will be described herein with particular reference to the sealing of continguous panels joined by means of a butt-joint, it is not intended to be limited thereto.

Conventional methods of sealing butt-joints between contiguous panel members include (a) clamping a wide, soft-strip sealant between the joint faces, and (b) applying a liquid (gun) sealant to one or both joint faces prior to assembly and/or into the pressurised side of the joint faces after assembly.

The effectiveness of the liquid sealant is strongly dependant upon the skill and care of the operator, is not practical in wet conditions and is time-consuming. It is not generally favoured as a method of sealing sectional storage tanks.

Strip sealants are widely used but suffer, inter alia, from the following disadvantages: (i) If the clamping force is too high or the sealing material too soft, the latter is forced out of the joint.

(iii) If the sealing material is too hard, very high clamping forces are required to effect a seal.

(iii) Variations in joint thickness make erection of large assemblies difficult and can result in incomplete sealing.

(iv) If connecting bolts are used between flanges, it is necessary to puncture the sealing strip.

(v) Even with high clamping forces, the pressure applied at any point is too low to ensure a perfect seal because of the large contact area.

(vi) Repeated loading and unloading reduces the effectiveness of the seal.

Numerous attempts have been made to overcome these problems by using preformed, non-flowing, joining materials (e.g. extruded rubber gaskets), but the difficulty with these materials lies in the need to make perfect, onsite leakproof joints.

We have found that contiguous joint-members can be brought into sealing abutment by providing, according to the present invention, a seal on one joint-member which engages a rebate on the other joint-member.

Accordingly, the present invention provides, in a first embodiment, a method of obtaining a seal between a first joint-member and a second, contiguous, joint-member, in which the abutting surface of each joint-member is provided with two or more rebates, at least one rebate containing a sealing-member and at least one rebate being left empty whereby, when the two joint-members are brought into abutment, a sealing member on the first jointmember engages, in a complementary manner, an empty rebate on the second joint-member.

In a second embodiment, the present invention provides an article comprising a plurality of contiguous joint-members, each adjacent pair of joint-members being sealed together by the method described in the immediately-preceding paragraph.

Preferably, each rebate may extend continuously around the periphery of a joint-member.

Likewise, each sealing member may extend continuously around the periphery of a jointmember. For example, each sealing member may comprise an endless resilient member such as an O-ring.

The use of O-rings as sealing members allows the abutting surface of the joint-members to be tightly clamped without unduly stressing the sealing member or generating large bending moments in the joint. The contact-area of the sealing member is low relative to the joint and this results in a high sealing pressure, even though the clamping force between the joint-members is low by comparison. In turn, this results in the joint being relatively rigid and capable of tolerating cyclic loading without deleterious effect on the seal.

Conveniently, each sealing member may be secured in position in its associated rebate, e.g. by means of an adhesive.

The present invention finds particular application in the provision of seals between the abutting edges of rectangular panels, for example in the construction of walls or containers.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be illustrated, merely by way of example, in the following description and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a joint-member to be used in forming a seal according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a section on line ll-ll of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a schematic plan view of a sealing member used in accordance with the present invention; Figure 4 is a section on line IV-IV of Fig. 3; Figure 5 is an end elevation of a sealed joint formed according to the present invention; Figure 6 is a section on line VI-VI of Fig. 5; Figure 7 is a schematic view of a wall comprising panels which are joined at their abutting surfaces by means of the joint shown in Figs. 5 and 6; and Figure 8 is a schematic view of part of a storage tank comprising panels which are joined at their abutting surfaces by means of the joint shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a joint-member comprises a rectangular panel 10, of length a and width b, having abutting surfaces on each edge (two are shown : 11 and 12). Rebates 20 and 21, each of width c and depth d, are provided in surfaces 11 and 12 and extend around the periphery of panel 10.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, a sealing member 30 comprises an O-ring of resilient material. Sealing member 30 has a circumference less than the periphery of the panel 10 (i.e.

less than 2(afb)) and an outside diameter e.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, two identical panels 40 and 50 are each provided with peripheral rebates (41, 42 and 51, 52 respectively). Rebate 42 of panel 40 contains a sealing member 61 and rebate 51 of panel 50 contains a sealing member 62, rebates 41 and 52 being left empty. When panels 40 and 50 are brought into abutment, sealing member 61 engages rebate 52 and sealing member 62 engages rebate 41 to form a double labyrinthine seal.

By using panels of the type shown by 40 and 50, alternately, a rectangular wall can be constructed (Fig. 7) in which every joint is doubly sealed in the same way as is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Furthermore, by using appropriate corner-pieces, a rectangular tank can be made in which each joint is sealed in a similar manner, shown in Fig. 8. The corner pieces shown in Fig. 8 require a sealing member moulded to follow the rebate contour.

In all cases assembly is more straighfforward if the seal is bonded into the rebate, e.g. by means of an adhesive.

Claims

1. A method of obtaining a seal between a first joint-member and a second contiguous joint-member, in which the abutting surface of each joint-member is provided with two or more rebates, at least one rebate containing a sealing member and at least one rebate being left empty whereby, when the two joint-members are brought into abutment, a sealing member on the first joint-member engages, in a complementary manner, an empty rebate on the second joint-member.

2. A method according to Claim 1, in which each rebate extends continuously around the periphery of a joint-member.

3. A method according to Claim 1 or 2, in which each sealing member extends continuously around the periphery of a joint-member.

4. A method according to Claim 3, in which each sealing member comprises an Oring.

5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each sealing member is secured in position in its associated rebate.

6. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each joint-member comprises a panel.

7. An article comprising a plurality of contiguous joint-members, each adjacent pair of joint-members being sealed together by the method of any one of the preceding claims.

8. A method according to Claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.

9. An article according to Claim 7, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated in Fig. 7 of the accompanying drawings.

10. An article according to Claim 7, substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated in Fig. 8 of the accompanying drawings.